Say Something
by Chibi's Sister
Summary: Tea thought she had everything she ever wanted...until she received an invitation to Yugi's wedding. Now she must rethink her priorities and decide once and for all what it is she wants out of life...or forever hold her peace. TxYxR
1. New Horizons

A/N: This is my first chapter story on this site and feedback is very much appreciated. Criticism does not offend me, so long as it is constructive.

Chapter One: New Horizons

The music swelled, and so did her light, ethereal steps. It seemed to the enraptured audience that she flew, dancing on air, on moonbeams. She spun a world of her own with her swift fluid movements, a world that just for a few moments she opened up to them and allowed them to peek inside. No one dared tear their eyes away. But all too soon, it seemed, the magic had to come to its end. With a few final, graceful steps, a few final notes, the dance ended and the curtains fell. There was a moment of total silence; then a thunderous cheer rose up from the audience. They knew that they had seen the rise of a star.

"Bravo, Téa, bravo!" Madame Marceau clapped her hands, her eyes shining with pride for her protégé.

The young dancer flushed, but a bright smile curved her lips. Her blue eyes looked bedazzled. She'd spent so many years of hard work and sacrifice, busting her butt for little reward or recognition. And now, the shimmering, sparkling fame that had suddenly burst open over her, bathing her in its luminous contents, was overwhelming. Overwhelming, but exhilarating. It was like she was caught in a sunbeam, everything golden and gorgeous. Or like she _was_ a sunbeam.

"You were brilliant!" A petite blonde zoomed forward and hugged the brunette. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen! You were glorious! I half-expected you to fly right off the stage and into the blue sky!"

Téa laughed. Her sapphire eyes sparkled at her enthusiastic friend. "That's a bit much, don't you think, Emily?"

Emily shook her head vigorously. "No, that was amazing! I couldn't do that in a million years, shine like that." She grinned impishly at her friend. "I'm telling you, you were born a star!"

"No one is born a star," Madame Marceau chided her exuberant pupil. "Talent, yes, that is born, like a diamond is born from coal. But it must be mined, brought out, cleaned and polished until everyone can see it shine. It takes years of hard work and dedication to achieve the level of excellence that she has. It takes untold sacrifice. And so few, so few, have the fortitude to be their own miners, and bring out the diamond inside." She turned to her star pupil. "And _that_, my dear, is why you are so special."

The blue-eyed dancer smiled, but her mind reached out wistfully to bittersweet memories of those sacrifices that had littered her path and barred her way. The long, tiring hours of practice, the exercise, the diet, the places she'd never gone, the things she'd never done. The friends she'd left behind. A lump rose in her throat, and she had to blink back a tear that threatened to spill onto her cheek, spoiling her thick stage makeup.

The irrepressible blonde grinned at her teacher. "Right, right. Well, you've got to have like the Hope diamond or something inside you, because that was indescribable!" she told her friend.

The dancer smiled, then stifled a yawn. "Sorry, I guess that performance really wore me out." She covered another yawn, and blinked her eyes owlishly.

"You'd better go get some rest," Madame Marceau advised. She fixed a sharp eye on the young woman, who capitulated with a smile.

"Alright, but I'd better get out of this stuff first." She gestured at her costume.

"I'll help," Emily offered cheerfully, trotting off behind the brunette to the dressing room.

The blonde unclasped her friend's ornate necklace and unzipped the back of her blue top. "Thanks, Em," Téa said. She hung the tight little top up in the wardrobe, and laid the necklace carefully in its case. She grabbed a loose coffee-colored sweater and pulled it on. "The costume might be dazzling, but I have to admit, it's not exactly comfortable."

"Well yeah!" Emily wrinkled her nose. "How do you even dance in that itsy-bitsy skirt?"

"With difficulty," Téa laughed, as she stepped out of the pink skirt in question. She hung it up, walked over to the mirror, and pulled a face at her reflection. "Like taking all these bobby pins out. Sheesh, what do they think I am, a pin cushion?" She started grabbing at her elaborate hairdo.

"Here, let me." Emily pushed Téa's hands aside and grabbed a nearby chair. "Sit," she ordered.

Teea acquiesced with a smile, as Emily attacked the pile of chestnut hair. She picked through the mail stacked on the counter by the mirror. She had an astonishing amount of fan mail these days. She wasn't sure if it was possible to _read_all of it, let alone actually respond to it. She felt bad thinking she wouldn't, though. If someone took the time to write her a letter, shouldn't she have to courtesy to write them back?

After Emily dug out bobby pin after bobby pin, the brunette sorted through the letters, picking out a few to read. She skimmed a sweet letter from a little girl. "Aww, that's so sweet! She wants to be a dancer when she grows up, so she can be just like me." Téa laughed, a cheerful tinkling sound. "She sounds a lot like me at that age, actually."

She picked up another letter, a creepier one from a middle-aged man. She tossed that one in a hurry. Then something caught her eye in the pile of mail. The letter was thicker than most and the envelope was fancy. The return address said California. She frowned as she opened it. There were two envelopes, one inside the other. As she opened the second envelope, a thick card fell out. She picked it up and read what was inside. The card fell to the ground. The brunette's hands shook.

Emily looked at her friend in concern. "You okay?" she asked. She bent to pick up the card, curious as to the cause of her friend's behavior. The card was snatched out of her hands before she could read it. She stared up in surprise. "Téa? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," was the terse—and obviously false—reply. Then she sighed. "Em, I just want to be alone right now."

Grudgingly, the girl left the room, throwing a bewildered glance behind her. Whatever had made her usually cheery-tempered friend to act in this strange way?

Téa stared out the window, watching the clear blue sky go by. Her mind filled with memories of her girlhood in Domino, the days she had shared with her close-knit group of friends. Those days hadn't been your average high school experience; they'd faced all kinds of strange situations and more danger than most adults could ever boast. But through it all, they had remained strong by falling back on the iron-clad fortitude of their friendship, the one constant that had stayed with them throughout all their adventures. Friendship. The brunette could clearly recall her own, much-younger, voice saying, "Our friendship will last forever!" _Forever._ She smiled bitterly. Forever was a lot shorter then she'd thought back then. It had been a golden time, despite all the danger and struggles, but it couldn't last. Time, space, and life had gotten in the way. It was natural, utterly simple. They'd all taken their separate roads, and slowly grown farther apart, lost touch. It'd been over a year since last she'd heard from Yugi Muto. After all this time, the invitation had been so abrupt, it'd been a shock. Yes, that was all, a shock. The news was rather surprising too. She hadn't known. That was all. She's just needed to adjust to the idea. She was fine now.

_Téa Gardener, you are such a liar. _She shook her head softly, sadly. Her finger traced a heart on the glass of the window as the clouds whizzed past and the plane flew steadily on to California.


	2. Many Meetings

A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter; I really appreciate that. I'd also like to acknowledge the contribution of nefermaatkare, who spent a lot of time and effort pointing out problems with the original version of this story, and One Half Forgotten, who, although I believe has left, made a huge impact on me as a writer, and without whom this story would not be possible.

Chapter Two: Many Meetings

When Téa stepped off the plane in San Francisco she'd expected her old friends to be there waiting to greet her. She nervously smoothed back a strand of chocolate brown hair, and looked around expectantly. But as she scanned the crowded airport, she didn't spot a single familiar face. Surely, despite the years that had gone by since they'd seen them last, she and her friends would recognize each other.

She retrieved her bag from the luggage carousel, and then stood there, waiting, a slightly lost expression on her face. They knew she was coming right? She'd told them her flight time and everything. So where were they? She surveyed the bustling crowd again, seeing nothing but a mass of complete strangers. _Now what?_ She supposed she could get a cab and try to locate the ranch on her own, but she wasn't sure about her ability to find it—or even if the Hawkinses still lived there.

Just as she was beginning to get seriously worked up, she heard a voice she remembered. "Téa? Is that you?"

She turned. Her worried expression changed instantly into a smile. "Duke. It's good to see you again."

"And I see you look good," he returned with a debonair grin. Téa looked him over with curious blue eyes. Somehow, the flamboyant teenager Téa had known had matured into a consummate professional. Professional, but not an inch bland, not with that distinctive spiky hairstyle, eye-catching red and black dress clothes, and those dangly dice earrings Téa remembered so well. No, not bland at all

"Let me take your bags," offered Duke. He hoisted her carryon over his shoulder and rolled her suitcase behind him and led the way out the airport doors. "I'm supposed to take you to the ranch—pretty much everyone's staying there. They built a new house after the damage—wait 'til you see it, it's great."

Téa nodded, remembering. The Hawkins' home and Professor Hawkins' lab had been blown up by an evil group trying to suppress his research when she'd been here last. She and her friends had spent most of the summer there, living in their trailer. It was a nice trailer, but she was glad to know they had built themselves a real home.

Soon she and Duke were speeding down the highway in his stylish red sports car. Téa sat fidgeting in the leather seat, trying to think of something to say. "So, how's your company doing?" she asked finally. Although it never approached the runaway success of Duel Monsters, Dungeon Dice Monsters, the game Duke had created, had enjoyed high levels of popularity over the years since its inception.

"Oh, yeah, it's doing great. We've got a chain of stores through California, and the entire US. We're now trying to branch out to other countries. In fact," he said with a grin and a flick of his long black hair, "Dungeon Dice Monsters is going to debut in France in November."

"Wow, Duke. That's so great!"

"Yeah, it's really taken off. Actually, we're currently in negations with Industrial Illusions. If all goes well, we'll be merging before the year's end." He glanced at her startled face. "It hasn't been announced to the public yet, so please don't say anything."

"I won't… but, _Pegasus's_ company? What on earth prompted that?"

Duke shrugged. "You know that company hasn't been the same since Yugi handed Pegasus that defeat at Duelist Kingdom. The whole monster scandal when the Orichalcos thing went down just made things worse."

"But Kaiba Corp. went through the same thing and their products are more popular than ever now." Téa protested.

"Kaiba dealt with it. He staged that whole Grand Championship tournament for the PR, remember. Kaiba Corp. got back on its feet quickly. Industrial Illusions just kept tumbling downhill."

"Oh." Téa gave a melancholy sigh. "So Pegasus's company is going out of business? That's so sad."

"Nah," Duke reassured her. "The royalties Kaiba Corp. pays them for the Duel Monster's license alone could probably keep them afloat. It's just not doing so hot. Pegasus doesn't really seem to care anymore. He doesn't have that drive, y'know. He wants to give it up, retire. He said something about getting back to his art."

Téa nodded. "I guess all the trouble with Duel Monsters hasn't really been easy on the poor guy, has it? I can see why he'd just want to get away from it all. But why _your_ company?" Duke raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I didn't mean any offense, Duke," Téa apologized. "I just meant, you don't even do anything with Duel Monsters. You would think Kaiba Corp. or something would be a more obvious choice. Though, maybe not. I don't really think Kaiba would be interested in owning anything of Pegasus's." She sighed. "Unless it was a rare card."

"Don't forget, Dungeon Dice Monsters has been associated with Industrial Illusions from the start. We're just taking our partnership to the next level."

"Yeah. And Pegasus does like you, after all." She knew that Duke had met and made a favorable impression on the Duel Monsters creator many years ago. In fact, Duke had hero-worshipped Pegasus for quite some time, until Yugi had shown him the truth in their battle. Suddenly, the brunette giggled.

"What is it?" Duke asked curiously, glancing over at her.

"I was just remembering how you forced Joey to wear that dog suit and bark like a dog." The young woman laughed. "It wasn't nice at all at the time, but looking back, it's pretty funny."

Duke smiled. "Well, I've come a long way from forcing people to act like dogs, Tea."

"Mmm." The brunette nodded. "You sure have."

After a while, the vibrant cityscape whizzing by gave way to open fields. Téa gazed pensively at the rapidly changing scene. Life didn't wait for anyone or anything. It had no respect for the tender feelings of youth. It marched relentlessly onward, tearing things apart as it willed. And once things had been so torn, was there anyway to put things back together?

"Well, here we are." Duke announced at last.

Téa's thoughts fell away as they pulled up in front of an expansive ranch house. "Wow. Is that their new house? It's gorgeous!" she exclaimed as Duke helped her out of the car.

"Thank you," replied an old man, making his way stiffly towards her, "but it's not so new anymore." She recognized him at once.

"Professor Hawkins! How good to see you!" The years had clearly taken their toll on the dignified scholar, but he still stood erect, a pleasant smile on his wrinkle-creased face. Then she noticed the man next to him.

"Mr. Muto!" She hugged him—he _was_ almost like her grandpa, in a way. He had grown shorter, if that was possible, and seemed to be in back pain, but he accepted her embrace warmly—perhaps a bit too warmly. She quickly released him, and blushingly recalled that Yugi's grandpa did always have a bit of a dirty streak.

"Hello, Téa. You're looking quite attractive," the old man rasped, smiling and winking at her.

Téa tried not to grimace. No, she decided, he really wasn't like her grandpa at all. She was saved from an awkward reply by the arrival of a young woman with a tray of lemonade and a familiar face. "Serenity?"

"Téa?" The young woman whirled, almost spilling the lemonade. "Téa! You came!"

"Serenity! It's wonderful to see you again!" Téa cried happily.

Serenity's eyes glowed. "I'm so glad you're here, Téa. How was your trip?" Serenity turned and set the tray of lemonade down on a nearby wicker table. "Rebecca asked me to bring this out," she told Professor Hawkins, who nodded his thanks.

"It was pretty good," Téa answered. "I was a little nervous about getting here, but Duke picked me up at the airport."

"Oh! Hi, Duke!" she exclaimed, noticing him for the first time. He hadn't said anything, busy struggling with Téa's luggage.

"Hey, Serenity," Duke replied. He turned to Téa. "I'm going to bring the suitcases inside. I'll ask Rebecca where she wants them."

"Sounds good. Thanks so much, Duke."

"No problem."

As he trudged off towards the house, Serenity pulled her friend off towards the patio, happy to have her to herself. "It's so good to see you, Téa. I heard about your show. That's so great!"

"Yeah, it's not that big a deal." Téa waved the praise off, but her blue eyes beamed with pleasure.

"Not a big deal? I heard about all the rave reviews," Serenity protested. "It sounds awesome, Téa. Maybe we could go see it sometime," she suggested.

"Go see what?" a tall male asked as he stepped forward to Serenity's side. Téa realized Serenity had been making her comment to him.

"Téa's show," Serenity said, gesturing toward the brunette.

"On Broadway?" The man asked incredulously, looking up.

Téa gasped in recognition. "Tristan!" Her friend now towered over her. He looked cool and casual in jeans and a close-fitting grey shirt, which showed off his muscular physique. His brown hair had retained its unique pointy style, to which he had added some sort of goatee.

"Hey, Téa! Wow, no time no see. How's it going?" he asked. waving at her with one hand, while his other hand grasped Serenity's.

"Pretty good." Téa smiled as she watched Tristan clasp Serenity's hand in his. So that was the way the wind blew, huh. Her eyes caught a telltale flash of light on Serenity's hand. Her smile deepened._Tristan and Serenity._ Well, she had to say she approved. Tristan might be a muscle-head, but she had always thought he would make a good match for Joey's quiet, tenderhearted sister.

"So what was that you were saying about seeing Téa's show?" Tristan asked Serenity.

The young woman sighed. "Maybe you've been living under a rock, Tristan, but Téa's new Broadway show is a smash hit. I thought we should go up and see it sometime."

"But, 'Ren, that's in New York," he pointed out. "We'd have to fly, stay in a hotel, eat out…" He ticked the costs off on his fingers. "Plus those Broadway tickets aren't cheap."

"Don't worry about that," Téa stepped in. "I think I can wrangle a few complimentary seats." It might be fun to have some of her old friends visit in her new life for a while.

"In that case," said a male voice with a distinctly familiar Brooklyn accent, "d'ya think you can wrangle two more?"


	3. Catching Up

A/N: I apologize for all the exposition--I'm still working on how to not bog the story down with it. Hopefully things will pick up a bit now.

Chapter Three: Catching Up

Joey smiled broadly. He was taller now, and his face looked older, but his brown eyes had lost none of their mischievous fire. His dirty blond hair looked like it had been combed, for once, and his clothes, though still carelessly casual, looked clean and neat. But far more surprising than the alterations in his appearance was the curvy blonde with him, her hand affectionately—and possessively—on his shoulder.

"Mai!" Téa exclaimed in pleasure. She hadn't seen the woman since the whole Orichalcos debacle. It was good to see her…and with Joey, too.

"How you doing, Téa?" the beautiful woman greeted her. "You're looking good—trying to make someone jealous?" Tea blushed. Trust Mai to think of something like that. It was embarrassing, that's why she'd turned red. Not because she was right. That was just ridiculous. Why would she want to make anyone jealous? The brunette squirmed uncomfortably.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" protested her escort. Mai laughed and Téa joined her. Joey was still Joey, no matter how much time had gone by.

Mai, on the other hand… Mai had probably changed least physically out of any of the old friends she'd seen today. Her wavy golden hair still streamed down her back and her flawless skin was as smooth and unwrinkled as ever. But there was something different about her. Something had changed in those gorgeous violet eyes. A new contentment filled them, a mature wisdom foreign to the eyes of the restless, brash, young Mai she'd once known.

The blonde smiled down knowingly at Téa's scrutiny, causing the brunette to redden again. "Oookay." Is there something I'm missing here?" Joey broke in.

Téa giggled. "Don't be silly, Joey, you're always missing something," she told him.

"Like your brain," Mai added cheerfully.

"Can't get no respect around here," Joey muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Serenity draped her arm around his neck. "Cheer up, Big Brother," she told him. "In a minute the food will be ready."

He perked up immediately. "Dat's right!" He pulled away from Serenity and turned towards the house. "I think I'll go see if da food's ready yet." He edged in the direction of the kitchen. After he had gone a few yards, he bolted into a sprint.

Mai shook her head, her hand on her forehead, but she was laughing. "He keeps me young," she chuckled.

Tristan glanced toward his old friend's diminishing figure. "I...I think I'm going to go over and keep an eye on him," he said, excusing himself from the little circle. He started strolling dignifiedly, but soon they could him call "Wait up for me!" as he broke into a dead run.

The girls looked at each other and fell into hopeless hysterics. "I hope you're a good cook, Serenity," said Mai as the laughter began to subside.

"That's for sure." Téa agreed. It surprised her how easily she had settled into the old easy friendship they had shared so long ago. "By the way, is that a ring I see, Serenity?"

The auburn beauty blushed. "Yeah."

Téa hugged her friend. "Congratulations! When's the date?"

"Well, we haven't set one yet." Serenity began, sighing. "Mom wants me to graduate before we get married."

"When do you graduate?" Téa asked.

"Not until the spring of next year. Tristan doesn't want to wait that long, and neither do I, really, but…" She looked down. "I don't want to disappoint Mom. I guess I'm afraid if I don't respect her wishes about it, she won't approve of my marriage at all, and…I don't know, things are so complicated with my family."

Téa nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure things will work out, Serenity. So," she said, "what are you studying?"

"I'm in Nursing. I spent so many years of my life in a hospital, and I don't know if I would have made it through without all the kind nurses and doctors who helped me along the way. I just want to give some of that back, y'know. Be there for someone else the way they were for me." She looked down, embarrassed after making this "speech".

"That's awesome! You're going to make a great nurse, Serenity!"

"Do you really think so?" she asked shyly.

"Of course! Just look at the way you took care of Mai during Battle City? Speaking of which, what have you been up to, Mai?" Téa was eager to know what the woman had done since disappearing after their last encounter and just how she and Joey had ended up together.

"Well, I spent a long time as a professional duelist, just going from tournament to tournament, beating chumps and winning prize money. Then, eventually…" Her violet eyes went hazy and she broke off. After a minute, she said "Did you know that Joey is running the Kame game shop that used to belong to Yugi's grandfather?"

"What!_Joey_?" The news utterly dumbfounded the dancer and so astonished her that she didn't notice Mai's evasion.

"Yep. Y'know Yugi's been off so much, going from tournament to tournament, doing speech engagements, commercials, and so forth…"

No, she didn't know. She had no idea what Yugi Muto had been doing since he said goodbye to her all those years ago. She said nothing to the blonde, but her face must have looked stony, because Mai paused and looked at her uncertainly.

"Anyway," Mai continued after a moment, "Yugi was too busy to tie himself down to the shop, but his grandfather was ready to retire. So Joey volunteered to take over." She laughed. "I was as skeptical as you at first, Téa. But Joey's great, actually. He loves it, the way those innocent little kids come to him for advice as they're buying their very first cards. It's adorable, really, the way he acts so "wise" and "knowledgeable" in front of them. And he utterly laps up all the attention."

"Well, good for him." Téa smiled. It still struck her as somewhat insane for Joey, the clueless, but ambitious slacker, to be running a game shop, let alone the _Muto_ game shop. She thought about long afternoons she'd spent there with Yugi, even before he'd solved the puzzle or made any other friends. They'd just sit there together in the quiet, while he pored over some game or puzzle, his violet eyes lighting up eagerly as some obscure clue came to light. She'd always just assumed Yugi would take over for his grandpa when the time came. The two of them had always seemed so similar, both game nuts, both somewhat reclusive, choosing to keep their secrets quietly to themselves. They both seemed so ordinary, but there were surprising hidden depths to them.

She shook her head in amusement at herself. She made it seem so dramatic, romantic even, like it was some sort of failure, the bittersweet ending of something, rather than a simple change of life direction due to the fame that Yugi had accrued. Weren't people entitled to choose what they wanted to do with their lives? She, of all people, shouldn't complain about people chasing their dreams. And besides, it sounded like Yugi's change of heart was Joey's dream come true. It was obviously for the best.

"…and Kaiba's dating some dueling supermodel with pink hair…" Mai was saying.

"What?" Téa exclaimed. "Kaiba's dating _who_?"

Mai smirked at her. "Look who decided to start paying attention again.

Her cheeks went pink. "Oh, sorry. I guess I was daydreaming." She bit her lip. "But Kaiba's not really…"

Mai rolled his eyes. "Kaiba'll get a girlfriend when Hell freezes over, Téa. Now stop mooning over Yugi; we've got things to talk about."

"_What!_" Teea flushed. "Mai! How can you say something like that?"

"Oh, quite easily." The blonde winked.

Teea glared and shook her head. She'd seen the woman for the first time in eight years, and she was already on her case. Mai might think she knew all about Téa, thoughts, secrets, and all, but she was wrong. Téa Gardener was not the same girl she used to be.

Serenity shifted uneasily. "Why don't we go see how the food's doing?" she suggested in an obvious attempt to ease the tension. "I hate to think of the damage the boys could do unattended."

"Good point," Mai agreed. She followed Serenity towards the house, but not before throwing a final sidelong glance at Téa.

Téa sighed as she trudged behind the girls up to the gorgeous ranch house. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she shouldn't have come. Maybe it would have been better to just send a card or something. Maybe it had been too long. Maybe she'd simply outgrown the friends of her youth. Maybe they'd outgrown her.

The last thought sent a pang to her heart. It was true; they all seemed to be doing so much better than she was. They were all so happy, so settled into their little lives. _Yes, their _little_lives_._While you've gone out and made a name for yourself. You're not just Téa Gardner: little girl with big dreams, anymore. You're _somebody_. Téa Gardner: Broadway star. _

She was somebody. She'd heard the cheers of an audience and seen the adoring eyes of fans. She'd smelled the fragrance of flowers tossed onto the stage, tasted champagne toasted to her, and felt the heat of the spotlight on her face. But all of the sudden, the spotlight didn't seem as warm as it should have.

This was ridiculous.She'd come here to have _fun_. She was supposed to relax, just chill for a little. She'd come so she could catch up with some old friends, reminisce a little about old times, and—alright, she would admit it—brag a little about how far she'd come. She wasn't supposed to get all glum and moody. She wasn't supposed to act like anything was wrong. Couldn't she just be her old, happy-go-lucky self again for once?

Téa plastered a cheerful smile on her face, determined to act happy, and hope the actual emotion followed. She oohed and aahed politely as Mai and Serenity showed her around. It _was_lovely, though personally she preferred her sophisticated Manhattan apartment. Finally, they ended up in the dining room, where Joey and Tristan were bolting down massive plates of food. In fact, practically every friend Yugi had ever made seemed to be there. At one table sat Bakura, with Ishizu and Odion, probably talking about Egypt. Bakura had followed his father's footsteps and gone into archaeology. Last Tea had heard, Professor Hawkins had helped him land a job with an old friend, a prominent Egyptologist. Nearby Marik and Valon were talking about motorcycles, and at another table sat Raphael and Mako Tsunami. What did those two have to talk about? There was Duke, chatting up the still-lovely Vivian Wong. Tea even spotted Leon von Schroeder in a corner with Mokuba. There was no sign of either of their older brothers, though. Téa fixed her smile on extra tight and braced herself for the round of greeting.

After she had seen everyone, Tea got a glass of water and a plate of salad—which seemed to be the only things left after Joey and Tristan's invasion—and sat down beside Serenity. Tristan, who had just gotten up to take that seat himself, started to protest this, despite his mouthful of food.

"Go away," she shooed him, waving her hand about forcefully. "You get to see her all the time. Go bug Joey or something."

Tristan scowled, and walked back over to the table where Joey was sitting. Mai now occupied the seat he had so recently vacated, but Tristan was undeterred. "Hey, Mai," he said cheerfully, before sliding in between the couple. The blond looked up from his overloaded platter to throw him a glare, while Mai rolled her eyes in Téa's direction.

Téa grinned in response. _This_was the way things were supposed to be.

Serenity smiled up at her friend. "You seem more yourself, Téa," she commented lightly. "I was getting a little worried about you.

"Yeah," Téa agreed. "Sorry I was so out of sorts earlier." She stifled a yawn. "I think the let jag got to me." She laughed. "I mean, the jet lag. See? I can't even talk anymore."

"It's okay, I know what you mean. I grew up with Joey, after all." Serenity laughed softly and Téa joined in. It was a warm, cozy feeling, giggling together. It was enough to make Téa completely ignore the resentful mutter that came from Joey's direction.

"Sure, let's all make fun of Joey. He's always good for a laugh."

"So," Téa began, throwing a glance around the crowded dining room, "quite a turnout, isn't it?"

Serenity nodded her agreement. "Yugi has _so_ many friends. How did he manage to meet them all?"

"Well, he just sort of bumps into them, y'know, when he's saving the world an' stuff. He can't really go anywhere without making one." Téa glanced at Duke's companion again. "Serenity, how did Vivian get invited? Rebecca can't stand her."

"Oh, I thought you knew. Didn't he mention it when he drove you over? Duke brought her. They're dating."

"Seriously?"

The girl nodded.

"When did that happen?" Téa inquired curiously. During Tea's very brief acquaintance with the Asian duelist, Vivian had been in avid pursuit of both Yugi and Kaiba. As far as Téa knew, she hadn't even given Duke a glance.

"I'm not sure. I just met her this week, when they arrived." Serenity leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "She really made Joey upset, too. When Duke introduced her to us, she said 'Oh, you're that underdog duelist.' Mai had to pull him off to the side until she managed to cool him off."

"How'd she manage that?"

Serenity turned bright pink and giggled. "She kissed him."

"That would do it," Téa agreed, the slightest of pink spots appearing on her cheeks.

The girls chatted for a while, Téa catching up on the various gossip. It was obvious that Serenity had stayed in far better touch with the gang than Tea had. But maybe that wasn't so surprising, after all, of Téa's three closest friends, Serenity was sister to one, and engaged to another. While Téa'd gone to New York to study dancing and then to Broadway, Serenity had stayed close. After graduating from high school, she'd enrolled in the same college Joey and Tristan were already in, just outside Domino. She was currently living on campus, but she and Tristan planned to buy a house in the city after they were married. Joey was still very close with his former mentor, Yugi's grandpa, so the Wheelers stayed well-informed on Yugi's life, no matter where his travels took him. According to Serenity, Yugi had started at the same college as Joey and Tristan, but he had ended up taking so much time off for tournaments and promotionals, that it just wasn't worth it. He dropped out midway through his junior year, and then took the next year off to go on a dig in Egypt with Professor Hawkins—and Rebecca. When he came back, he was swamped with offers.

"And the rest, as they say, is history," Serenity finished. "He's always got so much going on. I know Joey wishes he would stick around more, but, hey, he's a busy guy."

"It sure sounds like it," Téa agreed, taking a sip of water.

Serenity watched her carefully. "Téa," she began, "Is something wrong?"

"Why would you ask that?" Téa looked up from her glass, startled. Was her mask so thin that a careful look was all it took to see through it?

"Well, you…you don't seem yourself."

"That's because I'm not."

Serenity looked up abruptly at Téa's suddenly harsh tone. "What do you mean?"

"People change, Serenity. They grow up, they move on. You can't expect everything and everyone to stay frozen in time, forever and ever."

"I know that. But…Téa, we've been friends a long time. I think I can tell that—"

"Look, Serenity, I'm just…kinda stressed right now." She managed a weary smile. "Success ain't all it's cracked up to be."

"Téa," Serenity began carefully. "I don't think this is about your newfound fame, or even your dancing at all."

"Yeah? Well, what _do_ you think it's about, Serenity?" Tea's eyes flashed.

The auburn-haired girl took a deep breath. "I think it's about Yugi."


	4. When You Care

Chapter Four: When You Care

Téa went very still. Her skin seemed to pale and her deep blue eyes stared off into space. After a few tense seconds, Serenity felt like waving a hand in front of her face. She resisted the urge.

When Téa finally blinked and looked back at Serenity, the girl caught a glimpse of raw pain in her friend's eyes before Téa looked down at her plate. "I don't want to lie to you, Serenity," she mumbled. "And I guess I would be lying if I said Yugi had nothing to do with it."

"But…aren't you happy for him?"

"Happy? For him, sure. For me?" She shook her head. "I just don't know."

Serenity picked at her salad, unsure what to say. "Téa, you're living your dream. I don't understand why…"

""Why I'm not happy with that? Why it's not enough?" The harsh note was gone from the brunette's voice, replaced with a sort of sad wistfulness. "I wish I knew," she sighed. "Maybe I never really knew what my true dreams were."

Serenity frowned, but before she could ask what Téa meant by that, a familiar voice gave an exasperated screech.

"Who _devoured_ all the hors d'oeuvres?"

Téa's head swung up like a fish on a line.

The years had turned her skinny frame into svelte curves, smoothed her bouncy pigtails into an elegant bun, and replaced her freckles with rouge, but they hadn't improved her eyesight any. Those same tortoiseshell glasses framed her sharp green eyes which now glared about suspiciously.

"Joey? Tristan? Where are you?" she demanded. The boys dove behind Mai, who turned a look of hopeless exasperation in Tea and Serenity's direction. "I know you two scalawags are responsible for this atrocity." She stopped, as her eyes fell on the brunette. "Oh. Hello, Téa. When did you get here?"

"About a half hour ago. Duke picked me up at the airport," Téa replied, voice just a bit too bright. "It's nice to see you again, Rebecca. Oh, and congratulations."

"Thank you," Rebecca smiled. "I'm so glad you could make it. I was worried your schedule wouldn't allow it. I know you must be so busy now that you're a celebrity."

"I'm hardly a celebrity, Rebecca," Téa laughed. "And even if I was, you didn't seriously think I wouldn't show up, did you?"

Rebecca's glance shifted slightly from Tea's eyes to just beyond them, not responding. The dancer's face hardened, and there was hurt in her voice. "My friends are _important_ to me. I care about them. I care about you. I care about Yugi." She swallowed. "What makes you think I would toss that away?"

"Oh, I don't know," Rebecca snapped, suddenly irritable. "I'm sorry I brought it up." She kicked her foot restlessly against the linoleum of the kitchen floor. "Now, where did those dratted boys go?"

Instinctively, the girls glanced back at Mai. She shrugged. Joey and Tristan had seen their chance and made their getaway.

"Aren't they ever going to grow up?" Tea wondered aloud.

Mai's eyebrows twisted. "Would we want them to?"

….

Yugi stood in front of the mirror, carefully adjusting his jacket. A sound of commotion floated up from the kitchen and he hoped Joey and Tristan hadn't set the house on fire. Not that it would surprise him if they had. Right now, nothing would surprise him. He frowned and sank down on the edge of his bed. What was _wrong_ with him, lately?

Every day, every hour, every second brought him closer to what was supposed to be the happiest moment of his life. So why did he feel like he'd swallowed a load of bricks?

He'd tried to explain it to Joey, but all the blond wanted to do was laugh and crack jokes. Grandpa just kept telling him that jitters were perfectly normal. But he didn't feel nervous, exactly…It was so hard to pin down, and even harder to explain.

"I wish you were here with me, Atem," he whispered. "I could really use some advice just about now." Atem would be able to understand the way he felt, even if Yugi himself didn't. Atem would offer some insightful words of wisdom and a sympathetic smile. Atem would…._Does it really matter?_ Yugi cut himself off irately. _Atem's not here. And Atem's not the one marrying Rebecca, you are. This is your problem to deal with. ._

Yugi's frown melted into a smile as he pictured Atem taking his place at the altar, and Rebecca's expression. He didn't know exactly how it had gone down, as his soul had been sealed into a stone tablet at the time, but he had the distinct impression that his fiancée had taken a disliking to the Pharaoh.

The moment of humor faded, and Yugi was still sitting on the bed, wrestling with these feelings he couldn't quite comprehend. Rebecca was intelligent, affectionate, witty, attentive, and forthright. She was both a loving ally and a formidable opponent. He couldn't ask for more. He loved Rebecca, didn't he? So why wasn't he more excited? Why didn't he feel happy?

"I'm over-thinking this," he decided. "I'm going to drive myself crazy trying to force myself to feel the specific way I think I should feel. I love Rebecca and I'm marrying Rebecca, and that's what's important."

"Who're ya talkin' to, Yug?" Joey asked, tumbling into the room, Tristan at his heels.

"Myself." Yugi surveyed their guilty expressions and sighed. "What did you do this time?"  
"Us?" Joey pulled himself up with an air of injury. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Joey ate all the appetizers," Tristan replied, plopping down beside Yugi on the bed. "Rebecca's pretty steamed."

"Me?" Joey was outraged. "As I recall, you had your fair share too!"

Tristan shrugged. "I _need_ more." He flexed his muscles. "Muscle mass burns more calories than fat, y'know. I've got to maintain my build. You're just stuffing yourself."

"All right, dat's it! If you got something to say, ya big fat overgrown monkey, then why doncha come over here and say it?"

"I _am_ here, saying it, doofus. Maybe if you didn't have more brains that hair, you could see that!"

Yugi winced. "Um, guys?"

"Who're you callin' a doofus, doofus? You've got nuthin' but a big hunka lard in your head—rotting, moldy lard!"

"Do you even know what lard is?"

"That's beside the point! Stop avoiding the issue, you overgrown, shark-headed hamster!"

A dangerous light flashed through Tristan's eyes. "You. Did. Not. Just. Diss. The Hair," he said. "_Nobody_ disses the hair." He strode forebodingly towards Joey, sticking his index finger on the blond's chest. "Especially not you, you flea-bitten, mangy, golden retriever that wouldn't know a stick from a shellfish. You wouldn't even know what a shark looked like until it bit your leg off. You'd just be smiling and shouting 'Hey, Serenity, I think the pretty dolphin likes me!' You wouldn't even know what a hamster looks like because you killed every single one you ever got your hands on!"

"Uh, Tristan?' Yugi ventured, "that's a little much."

Tristan ignored him. "Including Munchkin, back in Mrs. Henderson's second grade class."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Joey wailed. "I just wanted the little guy to get some fresh air, to be free! How was I supposed to know he'd get run over by a truck?" Yugi grimaced, not wanting to picture hamster pancake. "I didn't do it on purpose, not like when you decided to shave Muggles the rabbit in the third grade and couldn't find a razor, so you decided to burn his fur off!" Yugi gulped. "Or when you spray-painted a bulls-eye on that turtle and used it for target practice after you got your first gun." Yugi squirmed. "Or when you…"

Yugi could take it no more. He stood up, stomped his foot as hard as he could, and yelled, "STOP!"

Joey and Tristan were stunned into momentary silence.

"Let me get this straight," Yugi said, deciding to ignore issues of past animal cruelty for the moment. "You two ate all the appetizers, right?" They nodded, still not daring to speak. "And Rebecca got all upset about it?"

"Yeah. Man, you shoulda seen it. I thought she was gonna skin us alive or sumthin'. I'm telling ya, it's a good thing that she got distracted talking to Téa, or we wouldn't be standing here."

"Well, duh. We'd be in the kitchen, genius," muttered Tristan.

Yugi blinked. "Wait…did you say she was talking to Téa? She's here?"

"Where have you been, man?" Tristan said. "She got here over a half hour ago."

"Oh." He slumped back down on the bed. "I didn't know."

"Yug? Are you okay? You look kinda weird. You're not getting sick, are you?" Joey questioned. "Did you have some of dat jalepeno and anchovy pizza?"

"No." He shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Tristan asked. "To tell you the truth, you've been acting pretty mopey lately. Everything all right?"

"Well…" He shook his head. "No, it's nothing."

"It's obviously something. C'mon, Yug, we're your friends."

"Yeah, you can tell us!" Joey chimed in.

Yugi shot an exasperated glare in the blond's direction. "I already _tried_ to tell you, Joey. Some help you were."

Joey scratched his head with a puzzled air. Tristan gave him a disgusted look, and sat down beside Yugi. "Well, you could try talking to me. I might not have all the answers, but I might have a few."

Yugi sighed. It was obvious he wasn't getting out of here until he talked. "Well, it's just…"

"It's the wedding, isn't it?"

Yugi nodded. "I don't know why, but I just can't seem to feel very happy about it. I keep having these misgivings."

Joey smirked. "Oh, I get it." Yugi and Tristan looked at him warily. That was Joey's "I got the dirt" tone, and nine times of out of ten, it meant bad news. "_That's _why you were so "interested" to know Téa's showed up, huh?" He nudged Yugi's ribs.

"Gaaah!" The color rose on Yugi's cheeks. "That's not what I meant at all!"

"Want me to hit him for you?" Tristan offered.

"No, that's all right." Yugi got up on his feet. "Thanks guys, but I think I'm going to go down and get something to eat now."

Joey and Tristan looked at each other as Yugi disappeared down the hall. "Should we tell him we cleaned out the place?" Joey whispered.

"Nah." Tristan surveyed Yugi's bedroom. "Think there's any food in here?"

…..

The murmur of voices grew louder as Yugi trudged towards the dining room. The largest room in the cozy ranch house, it had become the _de facto_ gathering place ever since the guests had begun to arrive last week. Even though almost everyone not in wedding party was staying in a hotel, they still hung out here, guaranteeing the dining room was almost always packed. Unless Rebecca was still holed up in her room, which had become a virtual war room these past few days, she was likely to be mingling with her guests, including the recently arrived Ms. Gardener.

_Téa._ The thought of her was like the fake smoke in a fire drill: hazy, confusing, and smelling faintly of strawberries. She went dancing off to New York and promptly vanished without a trace, only to think she could just pop back in his life.

_You invited her, you dunce,_ he reminded himself_. Did you really think she wasn't going to show up?_ Rebecca certainly had seemed to harbor such a notion, but Yugi had known better. She'd have come, even if she had to walk all the way from Broadway. At least she would have if she was anything like the Téa he'd known, the indomitable girl who'd chase her dreams no matter where they lead her, the girl who would have danced barefoot on a bed of coals, if that was the stage that was offered. His eyes roamed off into the distance. People changed, he knew, but he couldn't help hoping that somewhere some part of that girl had survived.

"_That's why you were so "interested" to know Téa's showed up…" _Unbidden, the memory of Joey's insinuation floated into his mind, disrupting his reverie. He flinched, and guiltily tried to brush his thoughts of Téa from his mind. But that was just Joey…it didn't _mean_ anything. Just because he had once wanted to be more than just Téa's friend didn't mean that he was trying to pursue her, just days before his own wedding. The thought was ridiculous. The crush on Téa he had harbored all through high school was ancient history, like the dusty relics he and Rebecca had spent that fateful summer poring over. He smiled at the memories that swept over him: the hot desert sun, the cool, stark shadows, her green eyes glinting from behind smudged glasses as she carefully deciphered ancient hieroglyphs. It was in the gloom of some forgotten tomb that Yugi had first realized Rebecca was no longer a child with a big mouth and bigger vocabulary. When he wasn't looking, she had blossomed into a young woman, smart, pretty, and more stubborn than any mule anywhere What Rebecca set her mind to, she got. And as they worked side by side in the summer heat, she'd made it clear that what she wanted hadn't changed. Yugi could still hear her laughing words dancing through his head, _"When I was twelve years old, I decided to trade my teddy bear in for a boyfriend. Turns out, I was right. You're_ much _cuddlier."_

No, Joey was just being Joey, loud, clueless, and a million miles behind everyone else. And as for Téa…well, surely it wasn't a crime to think about an old friend, or to want to see her again. After all, he hadn't seen her since she'd left for New York, gaily waving back as the bus drove away. Despite initial good intentions, neither had made much of an effort as time, space, and increasingly diverging lives pulled them apart. It really had been too long. With that in mind, he pushed open the dining room door and stepped inside.


	5. Missing

A/N: This will be the last update until after New Year's. Have a very merry Christmas and spend time with those you love.

Chapter Five: Missing

Voices bounced like ping pong balls across the crowded room, colliding, splintering, and melting together to form a noise something between the drone of a weed-whacker and the clamor of the dog park. Yugi winced; how could anyone even _think_ in here? He glanced around in irritation, hoping to spot Téa, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he nearly smashed into Rebecca, standing at the end of the table, one hand resting on the wood, the other on her hip.

"Where have you been?" she demanded. "We need to call the caterer and make a final decision on the caviar…Did you call the florist like I asked?" She paused long enough to press a hand to her furrowed brow. "Everyone's been wondering where you've been, all these guests and you nowhere to be found."

"Upstairs, let's get it, and yes," Yugi replied in a single breath. He sighed. "Look, Rebecca, I'm sorry this has all fallen on you, and I'll try to do better. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

She frowned. "Like what?"

"Huh?" Yugi bumbled.

The lines of her face furrowed deeper into a scowl. "What's been on your mind, Yugi?" She waited a moment, but as he struggled to answer, she steamed ahead. "I can't plan this wedding on my own, you know, Yugi. I may be a genius, but I'm not Superwoman. If this is going to work, you're going to need to get your head out of where ever it's hiding and start _doing_something."

Yugi stared at her. "Rebecca…I…I never meant…"

She sighed, her scowl easing into a sad smile. "It's not just the wedding planning, Yugi. It's….well, I don't feel like you're with me anymore. You don't talk to me; you hide up in your room and talk to yourself." She hesitated. "Is everything…okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Rebecca. Everything's fine." He grinned at her. "Don't worry about the wedding, Beck. I know it's going to be wonderful. After all, the house is beautiful, we've got all our friends and family here…" He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "And I'm marrying you. How could things get more perfect?"

"Cute napkins would help," Rebecca muttered, but her eyes had softened and the bitterness had gone out of her voice. A faint blush lurked just beneath the rim of her glasses.

He looked around at the empty tables. "Is there anything to eat? I'm famished."

Rebecca scowled. "Those two blockheads you call your friends cleaned out the place, down to the last scrap. I suppose we'll have to arrange for dinner somehow; feel like ordering pizza?"

"I guess," Yugi sighed. He made a mental note to chew out Joey and Tristan when he found them—preferably before they discovered his secret stash of chocolate. He shook his head, then looked up, as he suddenly remembered. "Oh! Do you know where Téa is?"

"What do you want to know that for?" his fiancée asked, sounding annoyed.

"I heard she had arrived, that's all." He shrugged, wondering what the big deal was. "I wanted to talk to her."

"Talk to her about what?" There was a sulky undertone to her voice that harked back to the days of teddy bears and blue-eyed dragons.

Yugi scrambled for words. "About…her, her life…what's she's doing now. I haven't seen her in years, you know."

"I know," Rebecca sighed.

"She's my friend, Rebecca."

"I know. But, Yugi…" Her voice trailed off and she lifted her eyes to Yugi's with an almost wistful, pleading look.

"What is it, Beck?" She smiled slightly at the endearing nickname, but shook her head.

"Nothing. Go talk to Téa; I think she went upstairs with Serenity."

She fingered the traces of the kiss on her cheek tenderly, but her eyes, following Yugi as he slowly wandered back up the stairs in search of the brunette, were slightly misty behind her glasses. He couldn't hear her, but she whispered the words to the air. "Yugi….you love me…right?"

……

"Have a seat." Serenity bounced onto the bed and patted the patch of fluffy pink bedspread beside her. Téa smiled and joined her, carefully arranging the folds of her yellow skirt around her.

"So this is where you're staying, huh?"

"Me and Mai. The boys are down the hall."

Tea took in the pretty guestroom, decorated in shades of pink, perfectly suited to the feminine girl beside her. "Those curtains are cute."

Serenity grinned. "That's one point for me._"_

"One point for what?"

She laughed. "Oh, it's just that Mai and I had something of an argument over those curtains, the day we got here. _I_ think they're pretty, but Mai..." She rolled her eyes. "What did she call them?… 'cutesy.'"

"Cutesy, huh? Hmmp, she would. Mai's never been big on frills." The lacey curtains in question were the exact shade of the Happy Lover's wings. Téa smiled, remembering Mai's disgusted head-shaking over her own "cutesy" fairy-themed deck in the duel they'd held back in Duelist Kingdom. Mai was so much more skilled and experienced than she, her years of professional dueling and countless wins against Téa's friendly matches against Joey. Mai had been so confident in her victory, so sure Téa's faith in friendship and cuddly cards couldn't possibly stand against the superior might of Mai's Harpies. But Téa had managed to do the unthinkable—pull out a win—with her Shining Friendship card, powering up the relatively puny fairy again and again until it was stronger than Mai's monsters.

"Maybe that's what friendship is really like."

Serenity blinked at the apparent non sequitur. "What do you mean? Friendship is like what?"

"Like the Shining Friendship monster. Just by itself, it's pretty weak; anything can kill it. But if you keep supporting it, working at it, powering it up…there's no limit to what it can do."

Téa stared hard at her lap, wringing her skirt in her hands. "I killed it, didn't I? I left it out on the field all alone, with no back up, no traps; no magic cards to give it a boost when it needed it. I didn't bother to strengthen it, and it got slashed all apart." A tear trickled down her cheek. "I let it die."

"Téa," Serenity began, looking at her friend with concern, "I won't pretend to know exactly what you're talking about, and I know I don't know all there is to know about Duel Monsters. But I've watched my brother and Yugi duel, and I've even been in one duel myself, and I know that just because a card gets sent to the Graveyard, that doesn't mean it has to stay there." She put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "Monsters can be reborn, Téa. Maybe friendship is the same way."

Téa stared at her, blue eyes now red and dripping. "Maybe you're right," she whispered. Then her head drooped and she shook it sadly. "But, Serenity, I don't even know where to start. All these threads of my old life that I let drop…they're all tangled up now, and I don't know how to unravel them."

Serenity met her eyes with compassion. "I'm your friend, Téa. I know it's been a long time, and I know there's so much of each other's life we've missed, but I'd still like to be your friend." She reached out her hand. "Start with me, and we'll figure out the rest."

Tea looked at her outstretched hand. A thousand memories swarmed through her brain, when she was younger, less jaded, and had absolute confidence in the power of friendship. How many times had she been the one offering her hand, smiling, so bright, happy, and…friendly? Now, for the first time, she felt what it was like to be on the other side, feeling lost and lonely, like she was beginning to fade into the gloom, staring up at the beam of a flashlight.

She clasped Serenity's hand. She desperately wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come. "Thanks," she finally managed. "Thanks, Serenity; I needed that." She took a breath, followed by an awkward pause, and then Téa self-consciously changed the subject. "You and Tristan seem to be doing well together, I mean, obviously." Serenity blushed, and twisted her diamond ring. A little encouraged, Téa pressed on. "How about Mai and Joey? Are they serious?"

The choice of topic was a good one; Serenity loved talking about her brother and had a weakness for gossip. "I _think_ so. It's kind of difficult, I mean, they're kind of difficult about it. I can't get a straight answer out of either of them, no matter how many times I corner them. One minute Joey's crowing about how he's found the most perfect woman ever, the next he's talking about not wanting to get 'tied down.'" She shook her head. "Mai's just as bad, if a bit more subtle about it. I—"

Both girls turned at the sound of a rap on the door.

Mokuba stood in the hall, looking awkward. Serenity greeted him warmly, then asked "What's up? Did Tristan and my brother blow the kitchen up or something?"

Mokuba chuckled, loosening up a little. "Nope, still standing...and empty. Actually, that's sort of the reason I came up here." He turned to Téa. "I'm guessing you didn't really get much to eat on the trip down." She shook her head, wondering where this was leading too. He took a breath. "So, I was wondering…would you like to go out for dinner? I know some nice places pretty close by."

"You're asking me out to dinner?" she repeated.

He smiled. "Yeah. What do you think?"

Téa glanced at Serenity; her eyebrows shot up in response. Téa grinned; yeah, so it was a little weird, but who cared? She'd come here to have fun, after all. "Y'know what? I'd love to have dinner with you, Mokuba."

"Really?"

"Really."

He gave her a dazed sort of grin. "Well, okay then. Uh, do you need some time to do your hair or something?"

"Why, does it look that horrible?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Mokuba rushed in to explain, his face growing red. "I just thought, maybe…"

Serenity giggled, silencing him. "Your hair looks fine, Téa," she told her. "Go on, go have fun. But don't stay out too late, mind."

""Kay, Mom." Téa waved as she walked out the door, followed by Mokuba.

"That's what Joey says, too…" Serenity smiled as she watched them disappear down the hallway.


	6. Complicated

A/N: Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, I know I did. My apologies for the delay: between Christmas and New Year's festivities and Lord of the Rings marathons with friends, there just wasn't time to polish up the chapter. Here it is now: enjoy.

Chapter Six: Complicated

"Beautiful evening, isn't it?" The hot Californian sun had all but disappeared behind the hills, leaving behind a stunning splash of fiery oranges and pinks.

Mokuba nodded and helped the brunette into his midnight blue sports car. She touched the leather seats with an admiring smile. "Like the new ride?" he grinned.

"Very nice." She gave a wry smile. "Very expensive, too, I shouldn't wonder. How much did it cost?"

He winced. "More that house did." He nodded at the Hawkins ranch home.

Téa grinned. "You're going to drive your brother into bankruptcy, y'know."

"Nah, Seto's richer than Midas and Croesus put together. Besides, I do have a salary of my own, you know. Vice President of Kaiba Corp? Ringing any bells?"

"You bought the car on your own?"

"It's not like I have anything else to spend the money on. Seto takes care of the house, the food, the servants, pretty much everything. I don't have a girlfriend; clothes don't cost _that_ much." He shrugged. "So I buy sports cars."

"You'd think with all that money you'd be able to get a girlfriend," Téa mused.

Mokuba looked pained. "Téa, have I ever given you reason to believe I would be interested in a relationship with someone that shallow?"

"Just teasing," Téa laughed. She leaned back in the comfortable leather seat and watched the lights of Los Angeles grow brighter as they sped towards them. After a moment, she ventured, "So, you're holding out for true love, then?"

Mokuba's laugh was more of a bark. "I guess you might say that."

…..

"How are you, Téa?" Yugi smiled warmly. "It's so good to see you again. You look great. You're right, it has been too long." He shifted uncomfortably. "How am I? I'm doing great. I'm doing fantastic. I'm doing super-awesome-special, that's how I'm doing." He looked down at the floor and sighed. "This isn't going to go so great, is it?"

He walked up to the girls' guestroom, took a deep breath, muttered "Here we go," and knocked on the door.

After a moment, it swung open, and Serenity blinked out at him. "Hi, Yugi. What's up?"

"Hey, Serenity. Ah, I was wondering if I could talk to Téa…"

"Oh." There was an odd note to her voice and a frown crossed her lips.

"Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No…It's just, Téa isn't here right now."

"She's not? Where'd she go?" Yugi gave her a puzzled look.

Serenity bit her lip. "She, um, went out to dinner with Mokuba."

"Oh. Okay. I, uh, I guess I'll catch her later then." Yugi slowly walked away, inwardly reeling. Téa was going out…with_Mokuba? When did that happen? _Yugi thought. _I thought Téa wasn't really in touch with anyone…I thought she was busy with all her dancing and stuff. _He frowned. Téa and Mokuba. Mokuba and Téa. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Why should he care? It wasn't like it was any of his business. If Téa and Mokuba enjoyed each other's company, then…well…good. Yes, good. They were both his friends, and he could be happy for them. _Téa and Mokuba._ It just wasn't…well, it wasn't right, in fact it was downright wrong. And he was sure if he thought about long enough, he'd figure out why.

It was a rather disturbed looking Yugi who wandered down the hallway to his room, shaking his head and muttering to himself. Most of his mumbling was inaudible and indistinct, but right before he closed the door, one particular mutter could be clearly heard. "She's way too old for him anyway. What's she thinking; he's just a kid!"

Serenity watched him go, then sank back onto her bed and sighed. Things were getting so…complicated.

Mai poked her head through the doorway. "Was that Yugi?" She paused. "What I am I saying, of course it was Yugi. Who else has hair like a tie-dyed porcupine? What I mean is what was he doing here?"

Serenity propped herself up and looked at Mai. "He wanted to talk to Téa."

"He did?" There was a glint in Mai's violet eyes Serenity wasn't entirely sure she approved of. "What happened; did they talk?"

"Nope."

"What!" Mai scowled. "Téa didn't throw one of her little hissy fits did she? I swear that girl has no sense whatsoever sometimes…"

"Mai!" Serenity held up her hand. "Téa didn't do anything. But, Mai…you're not, y'know, trying to…well…" She sighed. "What I mean is, you do realize that Yugi's _engaged_, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, to Rebecca." Mai waved her hand imperiously. "Now what about Téa?"

…..

Téa took Mokuba's proffered hand and slid gracefully put of the car. As he led her towards the entrance of the elegant Italian restaurant, she was beginning to wish she had taken Mokuba up on his offer of letting her do her hair first. At least her clothes were nice; her knee-length yellow dress was stylish and relatively unwrinkled. She tugged self-consciously at the ice-blue chocker around her neck.

"Uh, Mokuba, are you sure I look okay for this place?"

Mokuba glanced at her in surprise. "Of course." Téa smiled uneasily, far from convinced.

She needn't have worried, though, she soon discovered. As soon as they walked in, a maitre de escorted them to a quiet table in the back. A wave of turning heads, whispers, and stares followed them all the way. It was disconcerting at first, but Téa's stage training soon took over and she held head high as she walked to the table on Mokuba's arm.

Once they were safely ensconced in the secluded alcove, Téa leaned over and whispered to Mokuba, "Come here a lot?"

"How could you tell?" he joked. "Nice place for a rich kid to spend all his brother's money, isn't it?"

"Mokuba, what I said earlier, about you driving Kaiba into bankruptcy, I was only kidding."

"Yeah. But that's what these people really think about me though. Careless, spendthrift party boy, that's me."

"Well, you do have the looks for it." Téa eyed him critically. He had his brother's height now, and something of the elder Kaiba's striking looks, though it was mitigated by the warm smile and open eyes that were too cute—and too Mokuba—to be so coldly appealing. As for the rest… "Long, loose hair, rumpled designer clothes, sort of an 'I could be gorgeous if I tried' look."

"Gee, thanks, Téa."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Actually, I should be the one thanking you."

"For taking you out to eat? Come on, I'm sure they were going to cook something up back at the ranch. It's not like you would have starved."

She shook her head. "Of course not. But this place is great, and it was so thoughtful of you, and…" She looked down and crumpled the napkin in her lap. She sighed. "And I need to talk to you." She met his eyes. "My dancing means the world to me, Mokuba. Being on stage, performing for people, being able to effect them—their emotions, their perceptions, even just for a moment—that's what I live for." She looked down again, uncomfortably.

Mokuba sighed and slouched back in his seat. "So you found out, huh? Who told you?"

Téa shrugged. "Theater gossip, nothing's safe from it. There was always scuttlebutt floating around about why the producers cast a virtual unknown, a young dancer straight out of school, for the lead role in _The Dark Magician Girl in the Moonlight._ Even I didn't really understand." She played with her napkin. "Everything began to make sense when I heard that in order to get the production rights from Kaiba Corp, the company put some strings on the casting."

"Among other things." Mokuba met her eyes. "I assure you, Téa, your role was not our only stipulation. It's in Kaiba Corp's best interests to ensure that such productions reflect positively on Duel Monsters and on Kaiba Corp."

"By casting a young dance student in the lead role? How does that benefit your corporation?"

Mokuba grinned. "You did marvelously, didn't you? You were obviously right for the part."

"You're evading the question."

Mokuba looked down at his plate for a moment, then leaned forward and met Téa's eyes. "Look, Téa, it was your dream, and I could make it come true. Why shouldn't I? It didn't hurt them any; you were wonderful and you know it. If you hadn't been, if that first night had been a flop, you'd have been outta there before you could blink. And nothing I could have said would have changed that."

Téa sighed. "I'd like to think I got where I am by hard work and perseverance, not by having friends in high places."

Mokuba looked serious. "Would you rather I have not arranged it?"

Tea stared at her lap. "I don't know."

"Téa…" Mokuba began.

Someone cleared their throat. Both Téa and Mokuba looked up to see the waitress standing there, looking embarrassed. Mokuba wondered just how long she'd been listening. "Are you ready for me to take your orders? I could come back…?"

Téa shook her head. "No. We're ready."

…..

"She left with Mokuba." Mai repeated. She sounded disgusted. "Of all the things for her to run off and do…"

Serenity flopped down on her bed. "It was a perfectly fine thing for her to do, Mai." She hugged a pillow to her chest. "And I really don't know why it bothers you so much."

Mai studied the floral pattern on the comforter for a while. "I just hate to see it end this way," she admitted.

"End what way? With a happy marriage?"

Mai looked at her. "You know what I mean, Serenity." She tossed her blonde mane. "C'mon, did Téa look happy to you?"

Serenity sighed. "No…" She couldn't help but remember her conversation with the brunette and the dejection in her blue eyes. No, Téa wasn't happy, no matter how much she pretended otherwise. But was Yugi?

"Well, there you go." Mai stood up. "I understand your concern, Serenity, but do we really want our dear friends to rush into a doomed marriage?"

Serenity was far from convinced. "Just because Téa may have some regrets about the way her life turned out, doesn't mean we should sabotage Yugi and Rebecca's wedding. Besides, _they_ seem fine. Their happiness is important, too, you know."

"Of course, of course. Honestly, Serenity, give me a little more credit than that." She winked. "But really, if their wedding can't stand a little nudging in certain directions, then well, it wouldn't be much of a marriage, now would it?"

"Well…no…" Serenity's stomach felt queasy. This couldn't be right, could it? Playing with fire like this…somebody would get burned. "But, Mai…"

"No buts, hon." She grinned. "Trust me, okay. I know what I'm doing. After all, my last name _is_ Valentine."

"For how much longer?" Serenity couldn't resist teasing her. She giggled at Mai's stunned expression, and let herself relax in relief that the conversation was over. She'd just have to keep Mai occupied, too busy to meddle too much. She smiled to herself. As long as she was keeping Mai busy, why shouldn't she keep her brother out of trouble at the same time?

….

The food arrived, but it did nothing to break the awkward silence. Téa refused to meet Mokuba's eyes, instead playing with her food, as she wondered what was wrong with her. Was she incapable of being happy? She hadn't gone with Mokuba intending to harangue him about the play, she really hadn't. She hadn't even meant to mention it, but the words slipped out. And now… She sighed. Why did she have to get so worked up? She loved her role, she loved the play, she adored every single minute of it.

She felt a tear beginning to form in the corner of her eye and blinked it away. But Mokuba evidently noticed because he swallowed and started to speak. "Téa…If what I've done upsets you, I'm sorry. I wanted to help you, not hurt you."

Téa couldn't speak; she merely nodded. Mokuba put down his fork. "That's sort of why…I mean, I love my brother, don't get me wrong. And he gives me everything. But he doesn't _do_ anything with all his money and influence, y'know? All he does is get richer; he doesn't _help_ anyone." Mokuba shrugged shyly. "When the theater company approached me about obtaining the rights to the production—we acquired them from Industrial Illusions a long time ago; maybe they were part of the deal Seto threatened Pegasus into, I'm not sure—I thought of you. I knew you were just out of dance school, and it seemed like a part you'd fit well…" He met her eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

The question startled Téa out of her silence. "What do you mean?"

"Do you want me to talk to the producer? Tell him Kaiba Corp has withdrawn its 'support' for your casting?"

Téa considered. "No," she said finally. "I guess... what I really wanted was just to vent. It's just, knowing what you did, I can never relax, never feel like I've earned what I have. I've always got this sense that I'm riding my friends' coattails, and one day the gravy train's going to end." She looked down. "And then where will I be?"

"Téa…" Mokuba studied her for a while. When had the cheerful, confident girl he'd known become this aloof and insecure woman? "Are things not going well? Your show is so successful, but you seem depressed."

Téa sighed. "I dunno…I feel like I should be happy, but I'm not, and I don't know why. My dancing _is_going well, I'm making tons of money, I'm working with some great people and a really sweet understudy, and… all my dreams are coming true."

"But it's not enough."

Téa shook her head. "Not enough…or maybe not _right_." She made a face. "Maybe I should be talking to a psychiatrist instead of you."

"Gee, thanks, Téa."

Téa couldn't help but grin.

"There." Mokuba smiled. "That's the first time you've smiled since we sat down." He drummed his fingers on the table. "Now about all this drama…"

"Drama?" protested Téa.

"About this _drama_," Mokuba continued pointedly. "This doesn't have anything to do with Yugi, does it?"

"Not you too," Téa sighed.

"Ah, then I'm not the first to pick up on it." He nodded sagely. "I'm right, then. Safety in numbers and all that, you know."

Téa laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. Just because a lot of people say something doesn't mean it's true. Just think of all the people who think Duel Monsters is a harmless children's card game."

Mokuba nodded. "Fair enough. But just because a lot of people think something also doesn't mean it's _not_ true."

The ball was in her court, she knew, but Téa let it bounce back into Mokuba's. "That's true."

"Because you say so?" Mokuba teased.

She rolled her eyes. "No, because it's the truth."

"What is truth?" Mokuba countered.

"What, now we're talking philosophy? And here I thought this was a date."

Mokuba blinked at her. Téa felt her stomach twist. So…this wasn't a date? She knew it was mainly a "let's hang out and catch up" thing, but she had assumed…She frowned, then grinned sheepishly to cover it. "Wrong assumption?"

Mokuba still seemed taken aback, but he quickly recovered and smiled as well. "Apparently, things really aren't true just because you say them."

"I never said they were," Téa huffed playfully.

As they worked through the initial awkwardness, Téa felt herself relax. While she wondered why Mokuba had asked her to dinner, she felt relieved to know he didn't harbor any romantic feelings or expectations towards her. She liked Mokuba a lot. He was sweet, charming, and a real gentleman. But he was also younger than her, and she had always seen him as a friend, almost a younger brother. She would have hated to lead him on or hurt him by not returning his feelings. But if Mokuba didn't see view the outing romantically, the pressure was off. She could chat, eat this awesome shrimp primavera, have a great time without worries. They could hang out together without being "together." She could go on being single and free and alone and lonely and…oh…

Mokuba studied her. "What are you thinking, Téa?"

"Oh, nothing really." She smiled wistfully. "I just think I'm going to swear off romance for a while."

"Really." Mokuba looked at her. "Because of Yugi?"

"What!" Téa glared daggers at the black-haired Kaiba. "Who said this had anything to do with Yugi?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Your eyes."

Téa looked away. "That's not funny, Mokuba."

"It wasn't intended to be. It was intended to be true."

"It's not that either."

"Methinks the lady do protest too much," Mokuba quoted glibly. "Relax, Téa, I'm not going to call the cops on you. Or Rebecca, for that matter."

"Just drop it, okay?" Téa growled.

"Fine."

So they chatted about the play and Kaiba Corp, and Kaiba himself. They swapped dating horror stories and cellphone numbers and bites of shrimp primavera and chicken parmesan. They laughed and smiled and had the best non-date either of them could remember in a while. And finally, as it grew late, Mokuba said he guessed he'd better take her back now, and Tea said she guessed so too, and they both ordered another cup of coffee.

And when they finally did leave, and as Mokuba walked her from the car to the door of the ranch house, he took Téa's hand. "You know, if things don't work out the way we might wish…we could do a lot worse, you and me."

"Yeah," Téa smiled softly. "We could." And for a moment, standing there with him in the starlight, she swayed towards him and almost forgot that he was five years younger than her, or that he was just a friend, or that this was not a date. Almost. But then she straightened and smiled and thanked him for the lovely evening and he smiled back and said the pleasure was all his. She opened the door and Mokuba turned and disappeared into the dark, lonely night.


	7. A Chance Encounter

A/N: Sorry about the delay. As I was prepping the next chapter for last week, I realized it didn't flow very well and left a lot of gaps. So over the past week I've been revamping it and writing two new chapters in between. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Seven: A Chance Encounter

Téa slowly drifted up the stairs, the evening she'd spent with Mokuba still vivid in her mind. A myriad of details floated through her memory: the playful glint in his blue-grey eyes as they bantered, the spicy smell of his aftershave washing over her as he leaned over to let her try a bite of his chicken parmesan, the gentle touch of his hand on hers as he walked her to the door. She smiled through her sleepiness and relished the thought that he would be at the rehearsal dinner tomorrow, and then at the wedding. They could sit together, she thought, as neither of them were in the wedding party. Téa allowed herself to wonder if maybe Mokuba wouldn't want to come see the show sometime. "I'll have to ask him next time," she told herself. She stifled a yawn.

"Late night?" Téa looked up to see Yugi standing at the top of the stairs.

"Yugi! Wow, I haven't seen you in forever!" Téa scoured him with hungry eyes as she scrambled over the last few steps. He was so tall! Well, actually, compared to Joey or Tristan he was still rather short. But compared to the shrimp he'd been when Téa'd last seen him, he was gigantic! Looked like he'd _finally_ gotten his growth spurt. Well, better late than never. His height wasn't the only change in his appearance, Téa noticed, although it was certainly the most obvious one. He'd lost his baby fat and with it some of the childish look his face had always had. His eyes seemed more angular and his mouth had a rather determined set to it. In fact, Téa realized unsettlingly, he looked rather like the Pharaoh.

A soft smile played over Yugi's lips as he watched the wide blue eyes drift over his form. "Hello, Téa," he said.

…..

Mai paced the length of the cream-colored carpet. At the end, she turned and retraced her steps over it again. "Where is that girl?" she muttered fiercely. "It's late; she ought to be back by now."

Serenity, lounging on her bed, looked up from her book to watch the blonde with amusement. "It's only quarter 'til eleven," she pointed out, "and it's not like Téa has a curfew after all."

"I know that!" Mai scowled. "But…"

Serenity narrowed her hazel eyes. "Mai…have you been scheming again? Did you set something up?"

"Oh, I wouldn't really call it a _scheme_, Serenity. More just a little stratagem," Mai purred.

"Mai, what did you do?" Serenity demanded flatly.

"Nothing, really. Let's just say I arranged for a certain someone to be waiting for our blue-eyed darling when she gets back from her excursion with Mokuba." Mai frowned. "Though all of that's going to go down the toilet if Téa doesn't get her butt back here before the sun rises."

Serenity sighed. "We've been over this, Mai. It's not really our business…" She was cut off by Mai holding up her hand for silence.

"Shhh! I think I hear something!" The two girls strained their ears. A cat-like grin lit up Mai's face. "It's Téa," she whispered, "and Yugi."

…..

Yugi smiled at the expression in Téa's eyes as they flickered up to meet his. "Yugi," she breathed.

"I know," he nodded, "I've gotten _sooo_ big." He mimicked an old granny and Téa smiled appreciatively.

"Yeah, you have. You can't blame a girl for being surprised. Now I have to look _up_ at you."

"Well, imagine how I feel; I have to look down at you."

"I haven't shrunk!" Téa protested. "You're the one who's shot up all the sudden."

Yugi nodded compliantly, his violet eyes still twinkling. It was true, Téa hadn't shrunk, or grown either. But that didn't mean she hadn't changed. She carried herself with a dancer's poise, and her long graceful limbs now bore a muscular tone. Her face was thinner and more angular as well, making her high cheekbones prominent. It was almost as if the soft and vulnerable about Téa had been melted away in a refiner's fire, leaving this sophisticated woman where the straightforward girl he had known had been. His voice was softer as he spoke again, "You're different too, Téa."

She nodded guardedly. "I suppose I am."

"How is life on Broadway?"

Téa pulled a face. "Dramatic. I don't know if I've ever seen so many divas in the same place before. It's a wonder the stage doesn't collapse under the weight of all those egos."

Yugi chuckled, eliciting a grin from Téa. She took a seat on the stairs and Yugi did the same. "Do you enjoy it?" he asked.

Her nod was immediate. "Yeah, I do. I really do. When those curtains go up and it's just you and the lights and music, and it's _right_, y'know, you get this feeling…it's just incredible." Her eyes shone. "I love it, Yugi. It's like for that one moment, when I'm dancing, I don't have to worry about anything. Nothing's wrong, nothing's broken, there's no problems. Everything's right. It's like magic."

"Well, you are the Dark Magician Girl," Yugi grinned.

"You heard about that?" A soft blush swept over her cheeks.

"Y-yeah. Why?" Yugi wondered why she seemed so embarrassed.

Téa shrugged the question off. "No reason." Her voice grew hesitant, wistful even. "Did you know I had a dream about it once?"

"A dream?"'

"Yeah, a dream about starring in _The Dark Magician Girl in the Moonlight_. It was back when I was in high school." Her voice was very soft, almost inaudible. "You were in it."

Yugi looked at her in surprise. "I was?"

She nodded. "Do you remember when we were all trapped in Noah's virtual world?"

"I remember. We were all separated and the Big Five was after us, trying to win our bodies."

"Uh-huh. Well, while I was on my own, I had this dream. We were at school, and you gave me the Dark Magician Girl card. And then you started talking about when we went to go see _The Dark Magician Girl in the Moonlight_."

Yugi gave her a puzzled frown. "But we didn't ever go see that."

"Yeah, I know. It was a dream; it doesn't have to make sense. The point is, in the _dream_ we went, and the Dark Magician Girl called me onstage, and then I was the Dark Magician Girl, and I was dancing. It was just the lights, the music and me, and…it was just a dream…but there was that feeling, that everything was right." Yugi smiled. Téa took a breath and went on, "And I looked down and there were you guys."

"Me and the gang?"

"No," Téa shook her head, "you and…"

Swiftly, Yugi understood. "Me and Atem," he whispered.

She nodded, and a fresh wave of pink suffused her cheeks. "Anyway, it was just a dream," she said, getting to her feet. "It was nice talking to you, Yugi."

"Yes, it was nice," Yugi agreed, standing up. "It's been too long, Téa."

She nodded slowly. There was something almost sad in her eyes as she looked at him. "Yes, she agreed softly. "I think it has been too long."

She lifted her hand in a sort of half-hearted farewell, then turned and walked away. Yugi watched the blue-eyed girl disappear down the hall. He almost started after her, but checked himself. Téa Gardner could go where she liked, with or without consulting him.

……

Serenity leaned against the wall, arms crossed and face even crosser. "I can't believe you, Mai. You're actually listening at keyholes? What is this, a Jane Austen novel?"

"A what?"

"Jane Austen. Y'know, the famous romance novelist. _Pride and Prejudice. Sense and Sensibility_. Ringing any bells?"

"Sorry, hon." The blonde glanced back at Serenity. "Mind piping down a bit? I don't want that high pitched voice of yours to tip them off."

"Oh for crying out loud!—Téa!" Serenity blanched as the door swung open and the brunette walked in, nearly smacking into Mai, who scrambled to her feet.

"Oh, you guys didn't have to wait up for me. That was sweet, though," Téa smiled, oblivious to her friends' momentary panic.

"That's all right," Serenity said, not about to tell her that it had more to do with Mai's schemes than Téa's convenience. "So, how did it go?"

"Very nicely," she grinned. "I had a lovely time. It was great to talk to Mokuba."

"Did he kiss you?" Mai pried.

"Whaa? No!" Téa's cheeks turned red.

"Did you not want him to kiss you?"

"Mai!" Téa pressed her hand to her face. "It wasn't like that! It wasn't…it wasn't a date, okay."

"It wasn't?" Serenity asked curiously.

"No," Téa shook her head. "It was just a…outing, that's all."

"Oh." Serenity sounded like she wasn't sure what exactly to say to that.

"Hmmm." Mai eyed her shrewdly. "So, did anything else happen?"

Téa gave her a puzzled look. "Anything like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Did you run into anyone else, perchance? Have any interesting conversations?"

Téa's expression slowly hardened as comprehension filled the blue eyes she raised to meet Mai's violet ones. "I had several very interesting conversations with Mokuba," she replied curtly, "and I enjoyed a delicious dinner, and had a wonderful evening out."

"And Yugi? Did you see him?" Mai said.

"As a matter of fact, I passed him on the stairs. Were you looking for him?"

Mai made a "tcch" sound, before shaking her head and saying, "No."

"Neither am I."


	8. Details

A/N: Sorry this is late, and also that it's a short chapter. It's just sort of a look through the eyes of some of the less-used pov characters for a change. It's sort of like the calm before the storm. And it's going to storm.

Chapter Eight: Details

The next morning, Téa didn't say much to either Serenity or Mai as the girls got ready for the day. At breakfast, she left them completely and sat with Bakura and the Ishtars instead. Serenity couldn't really blame her after what had happened last night. Mai had ruined their chance to hear all the details of Téa's night with Mokuba—of which Serenity was _quite_ curious—and put Téa in a huff, all because she couldn't keep from conniving and trying to manage her friends' lives. Well, Serenity thought that it was quite time someone managed Mai Valentine's life for a change. She watched as the buxom blonde walk up to her brother and she smiled as she considered the avenues into which she could be managed.

Wrapped up as she was in plotting her brother's love life, she was caught completely off guard when a hand stole around her waist and spun her around. She gasped, right before a pair of lips descended on hers.

"Morning, beautiful," Tristan whispered as he released her.

"Tristan! You startled me!" Serenity relaxed against Tristan's tall form.

"Yeah, I noticed you kinda spacing out. Everything alright?"

Serenity nodded. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"Not you too!" Tristan groaned. "Everyone keeps saying that lately, Yugi, Téa, Mokuba…What's going on around here?"

Serenity began to laugh, but there was something almost hysterical about the sound. "Oh, it's a mess, Tristan, it's a real mess."

Tristan looked down at his fiancée, and then looked around at the room. "Feel like getting out of here?" he asked.

"You have no idea."

A half hour later, they were sitting in a cozy little breakfast place, and Serenity was toying with her plate of scrambled eggs as she told Tristan everything: Téa's strange behavior, Mai's suspicions and schemes, the non-date with Mokuba, and the blow-up last night. "It's crazy, I'm telling you, Tristan. I swear it's like I'm living in a soap opera. And the worst part is, I'm not even half-sure Mai's wrong about Téa, it's just…well, what she's doing doesn't seem to be right either…I don't know. It's all so complicated."

"Sounds like it," Tristan agreed. He sat back and scratched his head. "To tell you the truth, there might be something to what Mai said. Yugi was acting pretty strange the other day and when we told him that Téa had showed up…well, his reaction was kinda "interesting." Joey teased him about it and Yugi told him he had it all wrong, but now…I wonder…."

Serenity sighed. "Tristan, I know you and Mai have the best intentions, but when you guys start talking this way, I get nervous. Why can't we just leave them alone? I mean, their life, their business, right?"

Tristan chuckled. "I think all our ideas about keeping our lives separate kinda went out the window shortly after we all became friends. We've always watched each other's backs with everything—be it maniacs trying to take over the world, or dealing with how to be a big brother." His brown eyes were serious as he met hers. Then a grin lit his face. "It's too late now for Yugi and Téa to go changing the rules on us."

Serenity smiled, but her hazel eyes looked unconvinced. "Yeah, but Tristan think about what you guys are saying. Think about what you guys are_doing._ Yugi and Téa aren't the only people in this equation and their lives aren't the only ones affected. What about Rebecca?"

…..

"No, I want salmon, not tilapia. _Salmon_. Yes, I'm sure. What kind of question is that, anyway?" Rebecca rolled her eyes in exasperation, though she knew perfectly well the caterer couldn't see her through the phone. She was sprawled on her bed, where she had been for the last two hours, making calls and tying up the last few details. She wanted to pull her hair out. Who knew there was so much to do just to get married? Why, with all the stress, it was no wonder the divorce rate was so high. In fact, it was incredible that any couples even managed to get married at all, instead of falling messily, horribly, apart.

Rebecca winced. That hit a little too close to home. Just months ago, she and Yugi had been so happy and close, and now…it seemed the closer they got to the altar, the further apart they were growing. When she'd confronted him earlier, Yugi had said all the right things, yet she couldn't shake the sinking feeling in her stomach. "I'm losing him, aren't I? And I don't even know why."

"I'm sorry, madam?" Rebecca had completely forgotten about the phone in her hand and the caterer on the other end.

"Uh, I think I'm losing you…bad connection." She rubbed the receiver against the bedspread to imitate static—a junior high trick that never really worked anyway. "I can barely hear you…I'll have to call you back." She hung up the phone with a slam. She stared at her hand, still frozen on the receiver. _When did things get like this? _

She had tried to tell herself she was being ridiculous. It was bridal jitters or paranoia, even, getting to her. It was jealousy, maybe; she was honest enough with herself to know she wasn't comfortable around Téa Gardener, even though Rebecca was the one with the ring. It had taken a while for her to be honest enough with herself to realize it was woman's intuition. Something was wrong. Somewhere along the primrose path, one or both of them had tripped.

_Well, then, we're just going to have to pick ourselves back up_, Rebecca determined. _If something's wrong, we'll fix it. _

The sun hit the little scrap of a garden just right, turning the rather commonplace fountain into a prism that scattered rainbow-colored light across the luxuriant flower beds. Mokuba stood in front of the wall-sized window, staring down at the scene. A knock came at the door. "Mokuba, it's me."

"Come in," he replied, not turning. "It's unlocked."

A tall teenager opened the door. He was dressed in khaki pants and a sweater-vest every bit as expensive as Mokuba's designer jeans and loose collared shirt, but rather less striking. His wine-colored hair was short and neat and his pleasant, freckled face looked rather modest, almost nervous. He looked hesitantly around the room before he saw Mokuba. He strode toward him quickly. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Mokuba turned. "I was just admiring the view," he said quietly. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Leon glanced out the window. "Magical. But shouldn't we be going?"

Mokuba seemed not to have heard the question. "I got the room for the view. It's the best in the hotel, you know." He gestured at the room. "Spacious room, leather furnishings, mahogany side tables, a whirlpool bath, private hot tub, and 5,000 channels on television." He laughed bitterly. "And all I wanted was the window."

Leon looked at him. "I'm not sure this is the time to bemoan how poor we rich kids are, Mokuba."

"I know. It just strikes me sometimes, how strange life can be." He looked at Leon. "I wasn't born into this, like you. When I was a kid, I never had much more than two nickels to rub together. Now I have more money than I know what to do with." He sighed and stared at the kaleidoscope of light over the garden. "But it seems the more things I can buy, the more things I find that can't be bought."

Leon put a hand on his friend's shoulder and said nothing. At last Mokuba turned back to him. The dreamy look in his grey-blue eyes had been replaced by determination. "It's getting late," he said briskly. "We'd better get this show on the road."

"You're sure about this?" Leon asked, looking him in the eye.

Mokuba nodded. "I'm sure. That's all I really know."


	9. Rain

Chapter Nine: Rain

The melody was soft and graceful, like a brook flowing over the ears of the listeners. It was cheerful and sweet, yet with a touch of wistful melancholy Téa found herself straining to understand. If every cloud has a silver lining, the music seemed to say, then every blue sky has a cloud. It pulled at her soul and Téa longed to be swept away in it. How she would love to dance to this music! She envisioned the different moves she would perform, this step for that note, then that lift…she almost completely lost track of the slow procession of girls and women making their way down the center aisle.

Then the music changed, from the caress of the bittersweet river, to a more elegant, ornate tune, one that Téa recognized all too well. She looked up from her reverie and watched Rebecca walk, so slowly, so gracefully, down the aisle. She held herself like a queen, but the smile on her face was more akin to the pure delight Téa had seen on the face of more than one little girl. She was beautiful, stately, and adorable all at once. Téa looked down and bit her lip. She wasn't prepared for the stab of pain that had suddenly pierced her chest or the dull ache that washed over her. She hadn't expected to have to fight the urge to get up out of her seat and slap that smile off Rebecca's face. She hadn't thought…she hadn't realized, no, she hadn't admitted how deeply she cared. _And it's only the rehearsal. _

She frowned. Why was she thinking like this? Why did she always end up thinking like this whenever she tried to think about nothing in particular? What would it take to get Yugi Muto out of her head? It was so ridiculous. She really hadn't thought all that much about him once she'd headed off for New York. She'd quickly settled into her new life and relegated her old one to the occasional nostalgic memory—and that included Yugi. Now Atem…maybe _he_ had taken up more than his fair share of her sleep each night, but certainly not Yugi. She hadn't seen him that way, not really. Not often. She hadn't thought much in particular about Yugi. He was just there, her sweet, sensitive, reliable friend-with-a-crush, and he always would be there.

Except he wasn't. Expect now he was standing in the front of a church gazing adoringly at the girl he was going to marry tomorrow. Who wasn't her.

She stared up at him, realizing for the first time how much she had taken him for granted. Then his eyes met hers and she felt her heart twist. She swallowed and looked down.

"Are you okay?" Mokuba asked her concernedly.

"Yeah," she assured him hastily, though without much conviction. "I'm…no, I'm not. I…I don't….I don't feel so well. I think I should leave." She got up from the pew and slipped past him.

"Are you alright?" Mokuba looked at her worriedly. "Do you need to see a doctor?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine, I mean, I'm going to be fine. I think. I just need to lay down for a while."

"Well, at least let me drive you to the ranch," said Mokuba getting up.

"No, it's okay, Mokuba, really. I'll be fine. I think maybe all I need is some fresh air."

"Téa…are you sure?"

"Yes," she said decisively. "I'll be okay."

_Please be true,_ she thought as she walked out of the church. _Please be true that someday I'll be okay. _

From the dismal grey sky overhead, the first raindrops began to fall.

….

"A little to the left, Rach," Rebecca directed.

Her blonde cousin shifted obediently but rolled her eyes ever so slightly. Rebecca chose to ignore it. She looked down at the schedule in her hands. "Okay, now this is where we'll have the groom father's address," she said, glancing at Yugi's dad. "Then Grandpa's charge, and then your grandfather's, Yugi, and then the slideshow."

"Has that been finished?" Yugi asked her.

She nodded briskly. "Yep. I polished it off last night. I'm not quite sure about the length, though." She picked up the projector remote off the podium and clicked. "See what you think." She frowned at the unresponsive projector screen and clicked again. And again. "What is wrong with this stupid thing?" she cried.

Yugi gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and took the remote. "It's probably just being a little temperamental," he told her. He pointed the remote carefully at the projector and clicked. Nothing. "Are there batteries in this thing?" he muttered.

"New ones." Rebecca looked grimly smug.

'And you're positively sure the slideshow's on this thing?"

"Unquestionably."

"Um, then I hate to break it too you, sweetheart, but we've got a problem."

….

The wedding party idly conversed amongst themselves, waiting restlessly as the bride-to-be examined the computer system and gave her verdict. A frown crossed her face. "I'll get on it, though it's not going to be the work of a moment, I can tell you," Rebecca said in response to Yugi's questioning look. She sighed. "We'd better send everyone on to the restaurant, or we'll lose our reservations."

The news spread quickly, and soon everyone was dashing off into the cars and taking off. Grandpas Muto and Hawkins took some convincing before they would leave their grandchildren, but Yugi finally talked them into holding down the fort until he and Rebecca arrived. Joey took similar remonstrance, as well as the efforts of Serenity and Mai. Finally, Rebecca commented (only a little snidely) that he wouldn't be much use to anyone here, since he knew as much about computers as a parakeet. He left shortly. Within minutes, everyone was gone, except Yugi and Rebecca, as well as Mokuba and Leon, who had insisted on staying to help with the computer. They left just in time; the cars had barely taken off when it began raining in earnest.

As soon as her guests had gone, Rebecca walked over to the troublesome computer and gave it a menacing glare. "You're making me miss my own rehearsal dinner, you know," she told it. "I'm not going to forgive you for that." She carefully tucked the wispy tendrils of her blonde hair behind her ears, cracked her knuckles, and sat down to get to work. Soon she had her laptop hooked up to the computer system and was typing briskly, a look of determination on her face. Mokuba looked equally determined as he sat a few feet away at his own laptop, while Leon examined the remote and the connections, searching for any physical causes that Rebecca might have missed. Yugi watched them for a while, shrugged to himself, and finally took a seat. _Just wait until there's an evil megalomaniac trying to take over the world by playing a children's card game,_ he thought to himself. Then they'd see who was useful then.

….

Time flew with leaden wings and Yugi caught himself yawning several times. He tried his best to be supportive, but he got the impression he was being more annoying than helpful. He sighed and walked up to Rebecca. He laid his hand on her shoulder. "How are things going?" he asked for the umpteenth time.

Rebecca flinched and Yugi could see the glare in her eyes and the sharp retort on the tip of her tongue before she collected herself. She let herself sink back in the chair. "Not well," she admitted. "I don't get it. There's definitely a problem, but it frustrates all my efforts to diagnose it. Every time I think I've fixed the problem, something else goes wrong and it turns out that wasn't the problem at all."

Leon raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at Mokuba. Mokuba returned the look for a second, then looked back down at his laptop.

"So, what, surrender?" Yugi asked.

"Never." Rebecca's green eyes glinted fiercely. "But… we can't leave the guests waiting forever, either. You should go."

"Me? But what about you?"

"I can't leave, not if we want to have a wedding tomorrow. And you do want to have a wedding tomorrow, right?" Rebecca pointed a look his way. Yugi nodded and mumbled his agreement. "So, you see. Go, I'll be fine." Rebecca dismissed him with an imperious wave of her hand.

Yugi protested once more for form's sake, but capitulated, knowing Rebecca didn't really need or want him here anyway. Besides, Rebecca was more immovable than a two ton boulder when she was determined to have her way. He pressed a kiss on her forehead. She colored prettily, then shooed him away. Yugi smiled. "Bye, Beck."

After he left, Rebecca cracked her knuckles and set back to her work, scowling. She was Rebecca Hawkins and there was no computer she could not bend to her will. This recalcitrant machine would be no different.

But the next half hour passed as futilely as the first, and soon Rebecca was frustrated, hungry, and more determined than ever to master the machine. Resigned to the prospect of spending the entire evening working on the system, Leon went to bring back coffee and dinner. As he left, he glanced at Rebecca, typing furiously at her laptop. On her face was a grim determination and animal ferocity that would have cowed many a hardened warrior. Across from her was Mokuba, typing just as ferociously, and looking just as stonily resolute. Leon sighed. It was going to be a long night.

……

It was really all for the best. Rebecca really cared about Yugi, anyone could see that. And Yugi cared for her, too, of course he did. Their families were friends, and they both played Duel Monsters, and…it was for the best. It wouldn't have worked between them anyway. She had her career, after all, her dancing. She couldn't really expect Yugi to simply sit around in her shadow. Not that she would have wanted him to, in any case. Not that she had any tender feelings for him. She didn't, of course. She had merely grown attached to the idea of Yugi, the idea that he would always be there. It was simply a startling realization that he wasn't going to be, that he had moved on with his life. _It's all for the best,_ she told herself firmly. Now if only she believed that.

Thunder boomed overhead. Téa looked up, startled out of her reverie. A raindrop hit her forehead, one of the several that had managed to sneak between the branches of the tree she was sitting under. The rain hadn't bothered her much before, but that thunder sounded ominous. She got to her feet and tried to brush the dirt off her skirt. A wild wind whipped through the trees. Téa hugged her thin jacket close. _When did it get so cold?_ It thundered again. Téa shivered. She obviously couldn't stay out here in this little grove, though she winced at the thought of going back into the church. Well, it couldn't be helped. It was getting cold and dark and the weather was positively ominous. Any minute now it was going to…

Right on cue, the sky let loose a torrent of rain. A jagged streak of lightning lit up the sky. Téa looked around her wildly, then ran towards the church as fast as she could, silently cursing the vanity that had made her chose stiletto heels and a slinky black skirt. She had nearly made it when she stopped short. "My purse!" Her heart sank. She must have left it under the tree. As lighting and thunder battled overhead, she turned and ran back to the little grove. After a frantic second, she recognized the tree she had sat under and hurried to it. The purse wasn't there. In a panic, she tried tree after tree without success. The purse was nowhere to be found. Thunder boomed overhead as lightning flashed through the sky. The wind whipped at her clothes and her hair and rain poured down her face. Finally, she gave up, and made her wet, weary, wretched way back to the church.

By the time she arrived at the entrance, she was out of breath, disheveled, and absolutely drenched. She was positive there was more than one run in her pantyhose and probably mud all over her legs and her expensive stiletto heels. In her effort to straighten her skirt, slick back her hair, and catch her breath, it took her a moment before she noticed the once-full parking lot was now practically empty.

A cold feeling gripped her that had nothing to do with the weather. When had they left, she wondered, and where were they now? Hadn't anyone even noticed she was missing? Hadn't Mokuba?

"It figures," she muttered bitterly to herself. "It just figures." Then she sat down on the sidewalk, heedless of the storm, of the wind, the lightning, the rain that streamed down her cheeks. She just put her head down and cried. After all, what was a little more water?


	10. Conversations

A/N: Apologies for the long delay. Hopefully updates should be back to the regular schedule now.

Chapter Ten: Conversations

She wasn't sure just how long she sat there crying, as the storm raged all around her, mirroring the misery that churned inside her heart. Finally, she futilely tried to wipe her cheeks and swallow her tears._Pull yourself together, Téa,_ she thought. _It's not worth crying over. Sniveling on the sidewalk's not going to help anything. _

But it wasn't just being left behind, or maybe it was. Once again she was alone, the darkness closing in around her, and her friends were nowhere to be found. Once again she'd left their circle and they'd moved on like she'd never been there in the first place. No, it wasn't just being left at the church. "It's, it's everything. It's the wedding, and Yugi, and the storm, and my stupid purse, and…"

"Purse?" Téa whirled, and then paled. Through the darkness and rain, she could make out a familiar figure. Yugi walked up beside her and held out a navy handbag. "Is this yours?"

It was, of course. She must have left it in the sanctuary. Téa half-reached out her hand to it. Then she dropped it, as if she'd been burned. "No," she said abruptly. She turned away. She tried not to shake. How long had he stood there? What had he seen? What had he heard?

"It's not?" Yugi sounded confused. He sat down beside her. "I wonder whose it is then. It's not Rebecca's; I'm pretty sure Serenity's purse is pink…I can't really see it being Mai's can you?"

"No."_Shut up, Yugi._ Téa bunched her skirt in her lap. _Stop talking like that, so innocent, and clueless and…sweet. _

Yugi laughed nervously. "Glad I'm not the only one who thought so. Ishizu, maybe?" He scratched his head. "Though I don't exactly picture her as the purse-toting type. Blame it on first impressions, I guess."

First impressions. Téa's first impression of Ishizu was a mysterious woman in a dusty museum, far too ancient to be so young, who brought a finality into Téa's life that could not be ignored. Téa had known it before, but Ishizu had made her confront it, that day in the museum: The person she loved was two different people with two different lives. And she would have to choose.

"You haven't said much, Téa," Yugi's voice broke into her thoughts, "Penny for your thoughts,"

"Oh…" She shifted uncomfortably. "The rain's getting harder," she prevaricated.

"That's what you were thinking?" Yugi got to his feet. "We _can_ get out of the rain, you know." He reached out his hand, and before she could convince herself to do otherwise, he had helped her to her feet and was guiding her to the canopied church entrance.

"Actually, no," Téa admitted. "I was thinking about Ishizu, and first impressions, and…" she trailed off.

"And…" Yugi prompted. A sudden wave of nostalgia swept over Téa. For all the world, they could have been seventeen again, talking after school. Had things really changed that much?

She and took a deep breath. "And…and what she said at the museum. About Atem." _Atem._ The word hung between them, an almost palpable weight. How many years had it been since he left them? Yet the mere mention of his name stirred up so many emotions, raw and ragged.

"What did she say?" asked Yugi. Téa looked at him in surprise, but he was perfectly serious. "You might remember I only got the conversation secondhand."

Right. It had just been her and Atem that night. Their "date," though she wondered how much Atem had viewed it that way. She felt reluctant to surrender the moment in time they'd had completely alone. Why should she share it with Yugi? It had been his idea, after all; if he didn't like it, it was his fault. And he was getting married tomorrow, though Téa couldn't explain to herself (at least not satisfactorily) why that mattered.

But as he waited expectantly, 'I won't tell you', seemed so immature. Téa sighed. "She told us that Atem—of course we didn't know his name back then—had once been a king in Egypt who had defeated a great evil. She told us that evil was rising again." Téa shrugged. She knew Yugi knew all of this already—but what had he expected?

Yugi nodded. "But why were you thinking about that so intently?"

Téa swallowed. "You remember, we'd all met the spirit before—in that duel against Bakura." Yugi nodded, but looked a little confused. "And I realized you guys were different, that there were two Yugis." Deliberately, she used the words of her thoughts at the time, not the better, more precise, words she knew now. "I talked about the spirit, a lot; I hadn't talked to him so much, but that was the point of going on that da…outing. My mind knew you guys were two different people, but…" She swallowed. She had never meant the conversation to go this far, but it was too late to stop the words now. "…I don't think my heart really knew it. Until that moment, I don't think I realized I had to choose."

She didn't dare meet Yugi's eyes, but if she had, she would have seen a soft light kindle in them as he watched her seriously. "Téa," he whispered. "What did you choose?"

….

"And so, there I was, facing down Boris Tchkotoua. My gaze bored into his beady black eyes. He began to sweat. Slowly, laboriously, he lifted the revolver to his temple. As I stared at him, he clenched his teeth and pulled the trigger." There was an audible intake of breath from the listeners. Grandpa Muto grinned roguishly. He hesitated just a moment longer, before continuing, "There was a click. Nothing. A look of pure relief washed over the man's face. Then he handed the gun to me, and a smirk crossed his face. It was my turn."

"When are Yugi and Rebecca going to get here?" whispered Serenity to Mai and her brother. They'd been at the restaurant for nearly a half hour and Mr. Muto's supply of tales of his gaming exploits seemed limitless.

Joey scowled at his sister. "Shush, Serenity, I wanna hear how it turns out."

Mai smirked as she idly played with the ends of her long golden hair. "Haven't you heard this one already, Joey? Yugi's grandpa shoots himself in the head and dies."

"What! Aww, now you ruined it, Mai. Thanks a lot!"

The blonde beauty grinned. "I do try, Joseph. Though tell me, aren't you disturbed by the idea of talking to a ghost?"

"Whaa?...a ghost!" Joey nearly jumped two feet. "Whaddya mean? Who's a ghost?" Then it dawned on him. "Ohhh. Heh." He rubbed a hand behind his blond head. "You thought I _believed_ ya when you said Gramps shot himself. Nah, I was just playing with ya. Really, did ya think the brilliant mind of Joey Wheeler could be tricked so easily? I'm disappointed in you, Mai."

"Uh, Joey?" Serenity interjected.

"Yeah?"

"Your fly's open."

"Gaaah!" Joey turned the shade of a tomato and whipped around. "Hey, wait…" He turned back around to see Mai and Serenity laughing and high-fiving each other. "That's not funny!"

….

He found his eyes being drawn across the room again and again. She typed furiously, scowling and muttering all the while. She didn't look up. She focused every ounce of her energy and attention on the problem at hand. She was like that. She knew what she wanted and she drove toward it with the force of a bullet train until she got it. Right now, she was focused on Yugi, on her wedding, on the troublesome computer that was standing in her way. She cared about nothing except fixing it.

Mokuba looked down at his laptop and considered. His fingers wavered over the keys. Then, his eyes hardened with resolve. He could be every bit as stubborn and unyielding as Rebecca Hawkins. He would prove it to her.

"Any luck, Mokuba?" Rebecca's voice momentarily startled him.

He shook his head. "I can't seem to make any headway. I can't even figure out what the problem is."

She sighed. "My problem exactly." She got up from her chair and began pacing across the room. "What am I supposed to do, Mokuba? The wedding's tomorrow. If we can't get this computer working, the slideshow is doomed." She stamped her foot. "It won't be right without the slideshow! Or the footage—ohmigosh, the footage!" She explained to Mokuba, "We're supposed to feed the live footage of the ceremony to monitors on the sides of the church, in the back half, so the people sitting back there can see better. If the computers don't work…" She dug her fingers into her hair. "What are we going to do? I don't have time to figure out this dratted computer system—or to insist that the church replace it. It's impossible!"

"Postpone the wedding."

Rebecca whirled and stared at Mokuba. "What?"

"Postpone the wedding," Mokuba repeated. "That'll give you enough time to deal with the computers."

"But it's not that simple, Mokuba. There's the caterer, the florist, the church! Everyone's here already. I can't ask them all to stay in California indefinitely! And even if we could pull it off, the cost…" she put a hand to her head, "it would be astronomical."

Mokuba looked at her evenly. "The church will let you rebook, Rebecca, they have to, or face a lawsuit for their defective equipment. You might as well try calling the other places and seeing what they say."

"And the guests?" Rebecca demanded.

Mokuba smiled. "Come on, Rebecca, how difficult do you think it will be to convince Yugi's friends to stay a few more days?"

Rebecca gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't know why we're even discussing this. It's far too complicated to be feasible."

"More complicated than trying to fix the computer?"

"Look, computers I get. Or at least I usually do—I don't know what's_wrong_ with that psychotic machine. But weddings…they're still rather arcane to me. I mean, it's like you get one chance, one shot at the perfect day, your fairytale dream-come-true. It's supposed to be the happiest day of your life. But what if it isn't? I mean, how much happiness can silk and lace, and diamonds, and flowers, and having the napkins match the invitations create anyway?"

"I don't really think they can, Rebecca." Mokuba stood and crossed the room to stand next to her. "Being vice president of Kaiba Corp, I can have anything money can buy—houses, cars, clothes, video games, whatever I can think of. But it doesn't make me any happier. Possessions don't bring joy, only people do. The happiest moment I can imagine would be standing at the altar getting married to the woman I love—because of her, not because of her dress, or the flowers, or the cake, or anything else." Mokuba smiled wistfully. "Don't stress about the wedding, Rebecca. If you and Yugi really, truly love each other, the wedding won't matter because the marriage _will_. I can't think of a better happily ever after than that."

Rebecca was silent for a moment. She was looking away; Mokuba couldn't see her face. At last she said, "I guess you're right." She turned back towards him and smiled, though it was a rather half-hearted attempt. "So what do I do? Should I keep trying to fix or it or just give up?"

Mokuba studied her for a moment. "I think you need to decide that question for yourself."

Rebecca swallowed. She stared at the floor for a long moment. Finally, her eyes flickered upwards. "Mokuba, I…"

"Who's ready for some coffee?" Leon walked through the door with a carton of coffee, a brown takeout bag, and a grin. He stopped, glancing at Mokuba and Rebecca. "Is something wrong?"

"No," said Rebecca, shaking her head softly, "everything's fine." She took a coffee from Leon and walked towards the door. "I just need some fresh air."


	11. Confrontations

A/N: I know, I know, I fail at life. Things should really, really be back to normal now, I promise. 

Chapter Eleven: Confrontations

It seemed as if the whole world was frozen. Everything was cold, stiff, and silent around her, while inside raged an ocean of fire, a burning sea of crashing, pulsing, shifting emotions. The question had come so easily from his lips. _What did you choose? _The words threw her into turmoil. Her mind raced with thoughts, battling and bleeding into each other. There was a desperate look in her forget-me-not blue eyes as she stared at him, mouth gasping for the words to say. "Yugi…" she finally managed, "I….I don't know." She looked down and swallowed, as if to rid her mouth of the bitter taste of the lie. 

"I see." He turned away. "I should probably be going now. Do you need a ride to the restaurant?" 

Téa hesitated. She should say yes. Take the ride, take her purse, let Mokuba and champagne sooth her cares away. But she couldn't make her mouth form the word. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. "No," she whispered. "No, I'm fine." 

Yugi swung to stare at her, but she was already walking away. She steeled herself not to cry. She was strong; she was resilient. She would take her pride. 

"Téa…Hey, Téa, wait!" She couldn't resist the pleading tone in his voice. She turned. "It's cold, Téa. It's dark and it's still raining. I can't leave you out here like this. Let me take you to the restaurant. You can't stay out here all night." 

Her eyes were gemstones, glittering, but hard. "I can call a cab." 

"Without your purse?" he countered, hefting the navy handbag. _How long had he known….? _

Téa flushed and snatched the bag from his startled hands. He watched her as she pushed it over her shoulder, unwilling to look at him. "Téa," he said softly, "do you hate me?" 

"What?" Her blue eyes fluttered to his, full of genuine shock. "Of course not! Why would I hate you? Why would you even think that?" 

"Oh, I dunno." There was a soft melancholy in his voice. He stepped closer, and Téa's eyes, full of confusion, met his. "Téa," he murmured, "if you don't hate me, then…what?"

She shook her head. "I don't understand." He caught her hand in his and drew it to his chest. He was so close, only inches away. Tiny droplets of water trickled from his spikes to her head. 

His voice was little more than a whisper. "How do you feel about me?"

Her eyes went wide and then closed. "Yugi…I…"

The quiet of the moment was shattered by a voice Yugi and Téa knew well. "Well, isn't this a cozy little interlude."

Rebecca stared at her fiancé, unable to believe what her own eyes were telling her. All his sweet words of support, his protests…that kiss…had it all been a show? Had he secretly been scheming the whole time, chafing at the bit until the moment he could give her slip and go running to Téa? 

Yugi dropped Téa's hand and stared back at Rebecca, looking sick. He took a hesitant step toward her. "Rebecca…" he began pleadingly. Her eyes hardened into green diamonds. 

"Did the car break down?" she asked, her voice as hard as her eyes. 

Yugi shook his head, confusion clearly stamped all over his face. "No…"

"The roads ice over?" 

"Rebecca…it's June, in California."

"Then, why…" she swallowed to regain her control, "_why_ aren't you at the rehearsal dinner?" He looked down, unable to say anything. What _could_ he say? "Why are you out here…" she bit back the words _making out with that blue-eyed tramp,_ "while I've been slaving away at the computers with Leon and Mokuba, trying to get everything perfect for our _wedding_?" 

"I'm sorry, Rebecca," he said finally. 

"I'm sorry too," she said coolly, watching him wince. 

"We could go now," he offered humbly, daring to meet her eyes for a moment.

"I suppose we should," she said. "Someone should tell all those people that the wedding's been postponed."

"The wedding's been…_what?_" Yugi looked horrified. "Rebecca, please, we can talk about this."

"Yeah, in the car. Let's go." She took Yugi's hand and tugged him towards the yellow Camarro he had bought her for her birthday last year. He didn't protest, but she caught him glancing back and locking eyes with Téa. Her grip on his hand tightened painfully. 

"Rebecca," Yugi said, "Téa doesn't have a ride. You can't leave her out here stranded."

"Watch me," Rebecca muttered under her breath, but she stopped and turned. Her blood boiled at the thought of having that woman in the car, but she couldn't leave her out here in the rain. 

But Téa was shaking her head defiantly. "I didn't realize Mokuba was still here," she said. "I'll just stay with him." 

The look Rebecca gave her could have shattered glass. "Like heck you will," she growled. 

Téa blinked, looking stunned. "_What?_"

Rebecca turned to see Yugi staring at her in utter bewilderment. A tremor went through her. She clenched her fist. "Fine, do whatever you want!" she snapped. "See if I care!" She strode angrily to the car, yanked open the driver's side door, got inside, and slammed it. She sat there with her hands on the wheel, not looking at the still-stunned Yugi and Téa. But as she fumed, she could still hear them talk. 

"Téa…" she heard Yugi say. "I'm sorry. I just…well, I'm sorry." 

Téa didn't answer right away, and when she did her voice was so soft Rebecca could barely hear it. "I know. I'm sorry too."

There was a moment of silence, then she heard Yugi say "I guess, I guess I'll be seeing you then."

"Yeah," Téa whispered.

"Maybe…" Yugi began softly, his voice wistful. _Yeah, maybe what?_ Rebecca thought, feeling the anger burn inside her again as she listened to her fiancé try to sweet-talk another woman, Téa. Téa, who couldn't be content to steal Yugi away from her, but was stealing Mokuba too. Rebecca shook her head slowly. That couldn't be right. Yugi was hers, but Mokuba…what was Mokuba? _Not mine_, she told herself firmly. Mokuba couldn't be hers. She was Yugi's and Yugi was hers. She stared at the diamond ring on her hand. A tear trickled down her cheek. 

Yugi was still talking, softly, nervously, but Téa interrupted him. "You should go. Rebecca's waiting."

Yugi hesitated for a second. "Right," he said finally. "Rebecca." There was a sound of footsteps, and then the passenger door swung open. Yugi got inside. Neither he nor Rebecca said anything. Rebecca wiped her face and started the car. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she could see Téa in her rearview mirror, standing alone in the rain.

Téa stared after the car as it sped out of sight. Her hands were shaking. It felt like somehow her entire world had just fallen apart and she hadn't the least idea how to put the pieces back together. She just stood there, unmoving, as water trickled from her hair to her already-wet eyes. 

"Téa?" 

A half hour ago, she would have jumped. Now she turned wearily towards the speaker. "Mokuba." Her voice was flat, conveying no surprise. It wasn't that she felt no surprise (what a time for him to show up!), but that she felt incapable of expressing it. What did surprise mean anymore when your reality lay shattered on the ground? 

"What are you doing at here?" Mokuba asked. He came towards her, but stopped when he saw the expression on her face. "Are you alright?" She nodded dumbly. A silent lie. There were no words to express what she felt, but alright it certainly was not. 

Mokuba looked around the empty parking lot. "Have you seen Rebecca anywhere? She said she was coming out—"

"She's gone," Téa said abruptly. "She left with Yugi." 

"Gone?" Mokuba echoed. His brows furrowed in confusion. "With Yugi? I thought he left a while ago. What was he doing here?"

Téa opened her mouth to speak, but a dry croak was all that came out. Tears sprang from her eyes and mingled with the rain on her cheeks, and before she knew just what it was that she was doing, she had rushed at Mokuba and thrown herself into his arms. Mokuba was taken aback at first, but after a moment his arms closed around the girl and he whispered soothingly as she sobbed. Téa buried herself in his shoulder. She was horrible, wasn't she? First, there was Yugi, forbidden, taken Yugi, and now she had thrown herself at Mokuba, the first available guy, for comfort, like some horrible, man-eating slut. Maybe she was, but right now, she didn't care. It was enough, just for this moment, not to be alone. 

An uncomfortable silence hung over the occupants of the yellow Camarro speeding down the road. Rebecca looked straight ahead, while Yugi looked awkwardly off to the side, glancing back at his fiancée every now and then. Finally, he swallowed. "Can't we talk about this, Rebecca?" 

"Talk about what?" she snapped. "How you were making out with that tramp on the eve of our wedding?"

Yugi winced, but shook his head. "It wasn't like that, Rebecca. Nothing happened. We were just talking, that's all."

"Oh really?" Rebecca's knuckles turned white as her hands clenched the steering wheel. "You may have been talking, Yugi, but that's not all that was going on."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yugi demanded. 

"Oh, come on! That rainy parking lot was hotter than Egypt in July. The way you looked at her…" her voice broke, "…when was the last time you looked at me that way?" Into her thoughts stole a voice unbidden. _When was the last time you looked at Yugi the way that Téa did?_

Yugi seemed at a loss. Finally, he sighed. "Rebecca, I don't know exactly what it is you saw out there, but regardless of whatever way I was looking at Téa, I think of her as a friend." Rebecca scoffed. "It's true, Rebecca. You're the one I love, the one I'm going to marry, if you'll still have me."

"Because that's what you want or because that's what you promised?"

There was a moment of silence. Rebecca's heart hammered so loudly she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hear Yugi's response. But it came loud and clear to her ears. "Because it's_ right_."

Rebecca sank backing her seat. The silence trickled between them as Rebecca navigated the busy intersection. Finally, she spoke. "What's so wrong with being wrong sometimes?" 

Yugi frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Rebecca didn't answer. "Yugi, I'm going to make an announcement at the dinner tonight. The wedding's going to be postponed."

"What? Why? For how long?"

"For a week. That'll give me and Mokuba enough time to fix the computer system." She hesitated. "And I think it would be a good idea if we reexamined our commitment to this marriage, Yugi." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but they were pulling up at the restaurant and she didn't have time to argue. "We can talk later," she sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

Grandpa Muto scratched his head. "Now let's see. What stories haven't I told you yet?" There was a stony silence. "Did I tell you about my shogi match against Yoshiharu Habu?" 

Those gathered at the table nodded. 

"Well, then, what about my game of backgammon against Dan Harrington?"

"Yes," the assembled gusts all said in unison.

"Ping pong with Geoffrey Hiller?"

"_Yes."_

"Bingo with Sally Lu McIntire?" 

The guests groaned. Grandpa grinned sheepishly. "I guess I'll take that as a yes." He scratched his head for a moment, and then perked up. "Well," he began brightly, "how about the time I played strip poker with Margaux Hemingway?"

Several of the guests of the male variety pricked their ears, but Yugi's mother quickly stepped in. "Maybe some other time," she said. "Meanwhile, why don't we all share some of our favorite memories of the bride and groom?"

"Darn it," Joey muttered to Tristan. Tristan's nod of agreement froze as he saw Mai's hand descending upon Joey, and he quickly got out of the way instead. He watched with a wince as the blonde gave her boyfriend a round slap. 

Tristan turned to Serenity and shook his head. "Your brother is such a perv." Serenity gave him a dry smile and lifted her hand. "Hold still." 


	12. Resolutions

A/N: I hate homework...unless it's the Spanish fanfiction I'm writing for my Spanish class, which is sort of AUish to SS, along the lines of Meant to Be. If any of you can read Spanish, you might want to look out for that; I'll be posting it after my teacher corrects it. Anyway, I'm coming to the conclusion that every other week might have to be the new normal, at least until the end of school. Thanks for your forebearance, guys.

Chapter Twelve: Resolution

Téa didn't know how long she stood there, clutching Mokuba. All she knew was that eventually Mokuba gently detached himself and led her into the church. "You're drenched to the bone," he murmured. It was true. Téa looked more like a survivor of some cataclysmic flood than she did the elegant wedding guest who had arrived earlier this evening. Her hair stuck to her head in frenzied waves, all that was left on her makeup were the black traces of mascara running down her cheeks, and the way her soaked clothes clung to her was practically indecent.

Mokuba quickly rummaged through the church's lost and found and found a rather beat-up looking man's overcoat. He helped Téa remove her jacket and put the coat on. He hung her jacket over a chair to dry and gave her a wry grin. "It's the best I could do, I'm afraid."

"It's fine," Téa told him. She pulled the coat tightly around her, but a violent shiver went through her anyway.

Mokuba gave her a worried look. "There's some coffee and some food in the sanctuary," he said. "Come on, let's get some warm food into you."

Téa didn't have the energy to protest, so she meekly followed Mokuba upstairs and allowed him to help her into a chair. She even accepted the styrofoam coffee cup of and plate of cheap take-out Chinese that he pushed at her. She wasn't hungry in the slightest, but she felt Mokuba watching her anxiously, so she took a few half-hearted bites of rice and orange chicken. It tasted like mud, so she took a sip of coffee to wash it down. It didn't taste much better, but at least it was easier to swallow.

Mokuba sipped pensively at his own cup of coffee as he waited for Téa. Finally, when she gave her food a little disgusted shove and looked up at him with weary blue eyes, he spoke. "What happened?"

It was the obvious question to ask, but Téa was not ready to answer it. She shrugged and sighed and when it became obvious that Mokuba was not going to be put off, she lied. "I went for a walk to try to settle myself, but when I got back everyone was already gone and I got caught in the storm." It wasn't _really_ a lie, Téa told herself. Everything she said was true; it just had little relevance to the question.

Mokuba looked at her shrewdly and seemed to be about to say something, but then he thought better of it. Instead, he nodded slowly. "I guess they did all pile out of here pretty fast," he said. "I'm sorry you got left behind in the rain. You could have tried the church, y'know. A couple of us were still here, working one the computers. Didn't you recognize my car?"

"It was raining, Mokuba," Tea said crossly. She took another bite of chicken, not because she was hungry, but to avoid the conversation. After she swallowed it, she sipped her coffee. Mokuba waited patiently. His grey-blue eyes watched her with a little too much understanding. Téa didn't particularly feel like being understood right now. She grabbed at what Mokuba had said to deflect the conversation. "So, the computers still aren't working?"

"That's right," Mokuba nodded.

"Do you know what's wrong with them?"

"Rebecca hasn't figured it out yet."

Téa wrinkled her nose slightly. Something was _off _about that last sentence. She tried to work out what.

Mokuba looked at her curiously. "What on earth are you thinking about, Téa? Your face is all scrunched up."

Téa shrugged. "Oh, nothing." Something still bugged her, but she shoved it away. She had other things to think about. "What are they going to do about the computers, for the wedding, I mean?"

Mokuba frowned. "I don't really know. I did suggest postponing the wedding to Rebecca, but I don't—"

"Is that why?" The question flew out of Téa's mouth before she could catch it, stopping Mokuba dead in his tracks.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly. His expression was guarded.

"Is that the reason why Rebecca's postponing the wedding?"

* * *

"You're postponing the wedding?"

It was little more than a whisper, but it rang like a bell in the uncomfortable silence that followed Rebecca's announcement. The voice belonged to Rebecca's mother and Yugi winced at the hurt and confusion that it held. He was glad that Rebecca was the one making the announcement and not him, because where he would have hemmed and hawed awkwardly, Rebecca's reply was smooth and strong. "Yes, we're pushing the wedding a week back so we can deal with some technical problems that have arisen. I'm sorry for the inconvenience to all of you. Hopefully, you will all be able to extend your stay. I know the ranch will be open to any and all who need a place to stay."

"That goes for me, too." Duke stood and gave the other guests his trademark grin. "I've got an apartment in the city and anyone is welcome to stay there until the wedding."

"Thanks, Duke," Rebecca said, smiling for the first time since her and Yugi's "talk." She spread her hands out placatingly. "I know this may upset some people's plans, and for that I am truly sorry. I hope that you will still be able to join me in this special time, but I understand if you cannot." Her voice, her expression, her every gesture was calm and controlled, elegantly serene. Yugi thought about the way she had looked in the car, white knuckles, twisted face, and reddened eyes that refused to look at him. He wondered how much more Rebecca could take of being smooth and serene, and when her mask would crack.

He rose to his feet. "I know you guys still have some concerns, and we appreciate them, but it would be really great if they could wait 'til later. Rebecca and I are both pretty tired, and we'd like to enjoy this evening with you guys, not hold a press conference the whole time."

There were a few chuckles, and many sympathetic nods and smiles, mostly from his friends. Joey banged on his glass with a fork. "Hey, listen up! I think Yug' and Rebecca 've got enough on their plates right now without playing twenty questions. So how about we all give them a break, okay?" Yugi flashed his best friend a grateful smile, before sliding back into his seat. He felt some of the tenseness go out of him. His friends were still with him, whatever else he managed to screw up.

Joey was still talking. "After all, folks, it ain't exactly easy getting married, y'know. It's probably about the scariest thing I can think of, and if you know what me an' Yug' 've been though, you'd know that's saying something. I mean, promising yourself to just one person, forever? That's crazy scary, man!" Mai's expression was tight, _displeased_ would be an understatement. Yugi bit back a laugh. He appreciated Joey trying to help, but boy was he going to catch it from Mai later. Or was he? What was the deal with the two of them, anyway?

Joey kept right on talking. "An' I'm not trying to say that Yugi's a player or Rebecca's not gorgeous, or nuthin'. I mean, she's not the prettiest blonde I happen to know, but she's pretty good-looking. Anyhow, what I'm trying to say, is that forever is nuthin' to sneeze at here. That kind of promise is something really serious and so it's gotta be real hard to make." He shrugged his shoulders and grinned sheepishly. "That's why it means so much."

Yugi swallowed, only force of habit keeping the polite smile from slipping off his face. He was lost in thought, barely aware of Joey sitting down, or Mai giving him a swat, then kissing him on the cheek. Joey was right. Marrying someone was not something you did lightly. It couldn't be something temporary or disposable—Joey's own family showed how much pain that could cause. It was forever. It was the move that would make or break the game—and he couldn't afford to screw it up.

* * *

Téa pushed away her plate with a frown while she waited for Mokuba's response. He seemed surprised, but the shock he had initially shown had faded.

"I didn't know Rebecca had decided," Mokuba said. "I suggested it to her, but she seemed like she needed to think about it." He shook his head in puzzlement. "What could have induced her to make a snap decision like that?"

Téa said nothing. She took another sip of her coffee. It was bitter, but at least it was warm.

"What about Yugi?" Mokuba asked suddenly.

Téa looked up sharply. "What _about _Yugi?" she scowled.

Mokuba looked a little taken aback. "Why was he still there? We all thought he left a while ago."

"He was talking to me," Téa said stiffly. She tried not to think about that conversation, the low, soft words, that look in Yugi's eyes, his tantalizing proximity…no. Yugi wasn't hers, wasn't going to be hers. He was taken, off-limits, forbidden. _But oh, so very close…_

Mokuba looked at her, and Téa didn't think she liked how knowing his gaze seemed. She turned away morosely. "Why does everything have to be so complicated?" she burst out suddenly. "Why do we have to flail around so blindly? Why can't everything be the way it used to be, so simple and easy, when everybody knew how things were and how they were supposed to be?" Tears sprang to her eyes. "When did everything get so…wrong?"

Téa looked at the ground, embarrassed at how she'd let her soul slosh out. Mokuba didn't look at her. He got up from the table and started to pace. Téa got the feeling he didn't really know what to say to her outburst. "I'm stupid, aren't I?" she muttered, her head drooping. "How'd I get myself into this mess? I should have just stayed in New York."

"Would that really have solved things?" Téa's head bobbed up to look at Mokuba. "Would everything really have been better if you hadn't come?"

Téa slowly shook her head. "No," she whispered. "At least not for me. Maybe for everybody else, though." Her shoulders slumped. "I'm selfish."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. 'You're not selfish, Téa."

"Yes, I am." She swallowed. "You have no idea how incredibly selfish…" She broke off, and stared off into the distance as if Mokuba no longer existed, her blue eyes soft and wistful. Finally they closed and Téa's fists clenched. "Not any more." Her eyes popped open. "No more." She stood. "I'm sick and tired of feeling sorry for myself. I'm sick of wishing to be what I'm not and wanting what I can't have. No more. No more self-pity. From now on, I'm going to try to… try to like myself." She unclenched her hands and smiled sheepishly.

Mokuba walked to her and took her hands in his. He smiled. 'That shouldn't be too difficult."


	13. Aftermath

A/N: Sorry about the long delay. Finals and end of the year projects sucked up way more of my time than I'd anticipated. Updates should now be back on track for the next five weeks, but then I don't know what's going to happen.

Chapter Thirteen: Aftermath

Morning dawned on clear blue skies and warm sunshine. Rebecca's disposition was not so sunny. She rubbed her eyes groggily. She'd spent most of the night tossing and turning and wondering what on earth she was going to do. Amid the muddle of everything that had happened last night, one thing stood perfectly clear: Yugi Muto, the man she loved, the man who said he loved her too, the man she was supposed to be marrying today, was in love with someone else. _Téa_. She scowled at the thought of the slender young woman with her silky chestnut hair and vibrant blue eyes. What did Yugi see in Téa Gardner, anyway? It wasn't like she was _that_ pretty.

Rebecca peered at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was tangled and disheveled, her eyes were bleared with the mascara she hadn't bothered to remove last night, and it looked like a pimple was beginning to form at the corner of her nose. But she wasn't completely repulsive, was she? Rebecca carefully brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes. She leaned close to the mirror. "Do you think I'm pretty," she whispered. Her mirror image stared back at her with lonely green eyes. Rebecca sighed. "Yeah, me too."

A half-hour later, Rebecca stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a yellow robe, her hair damp on her shoulders. She walked to her closet and surveyed its contents with a critical frown, going through each article of clothing and setting it aside with business-like ruthlessness until she finally selected a skirt and top. She held them up to herself and looked in the mirror. A sly grin lit her face. Téa might be beautiful, but Rebecca wasn't about to roll over and play dead.

……

Yugi sat at the breakfast bar in the empty kitchen, staring morosely at the cup of coffee he really didn't feel like drinking. Last night still seemed unreal to him, like a nightmare he was still hoping he would wake up from. But he knew full well that it had been no nightmare, and now he was wondering how on earth he was possibly going to face either of the women he'd made such a mess with last night. He turned to see Tristan walk up behind him. "So, want to talk about what happened last night?" Yugi turned his back. "Not really." Tristan plopped a box of donuts on the counter. Yugi gave them a sidelong glance. Tristan grinned. "C'mon, you know you want one." "I can't be bribed with food," Yugi sniffed. "Yeah, I know. Too bad you're not Joey." "What was that, Tristan?" The blond poked his head in suspiciously. "Oooh! Donuts!" He dashed to the box and pulled out a chocolate with sprinkles. He took a big bite. "Delish," he grinned, oblivious of the ring of chocolate frosting around his mouth. Yugi sighed. "Alright, alright." He reached into the box, grabbed a powdered donut, and bit into it. It didn't taste quite so much like cardboard as he had been expecting. In fact, it tasted pretty good. He took another bite, and then washed it down with coffee. Tristan watched him, his satisfied expression almost a smirk, before he fished his own chocolate donut out of the box and bit down on it.

…….

_One, two, three…One. One, two, three…Two. One, two, three…Three. _Téa grunted as she lifted the weights for yet another repetition. The familiarity of her morning workout routine soothed her frayed emotions and made her feel almost normal again. Téa was glad she hadn't given in to Serenity's appeals to stay with her and Mai and instead had opted for her own room in a proper hotel with a workout room. It was good to get some space from the others; right now staying in the same house as Yugi and Rebecca was a complication she didn't need.

Her blood pulsed to the rhythm of the count as she pumped her heavy arms up and down. Her muscles ached, but Téa felt the best she'd felt since she landed in California. Right now, she didn't have to worry about anything, not about trying to impress her old friends or regaining them, and not about Yugi, or Rebecca, or Mokuba. She didn't have to pick her way through a labyrinth of complicated feelings. No heartbreak, no worries, no thinking, just muscle, iron and sweat.

Finally, Téa lowered the weights for the last time and put them back on the rack. She wiped a trickle of sweat off her forehead and glanced up at the clock on the wall. She smiled. There was plenty of time left before anyone would expect her at the ranch. She walked over to the mats and started her stretches, taking care to fully stretch out each warm, tired muscle. She depended on her muscles far too much to mistreat them. Her skin felt hot and sticky, and Téa was looking forward to taking a nice long luxurious shower. All that lovely hot water on her skin sounded like heaven. Well, there would be time for all that. Soon she would take her shower and she would step out clean, polished and beautiful again, ready to face the world and maybe Yugi. Téa sighed and bent over her outstretched leg, banishing all thoughts of the future from her mind. For now there was only sticky skin and the slow, soft burn in her quadriceps. What happened later could take care of itself for the present. Right now, the trickle of sweat down her cheek washed away more than water ever could.

……

The mid-morning sun flooded through the windows, brightening the spacious kitchen. The box of donuts on the counter was considerably emptier than it had been a half-hour ago. The kitchen, on the other hand, was far fuller. Joey, Tristan, and Yugi still sat on stools around the counter, but they had been joined by Leon, Mokuba, Bakura, Raphael and Valon. Joey and Valon were having a contest to see who could eat the most donuts without drinking any coffee, and had called upon the less-than-happy Raphael to judge. Joey was going strong with three and half, but Valon had already eaten three and was quickly catching up. Bakura cheered them on half-heartedly.

"Come on, man, just cram it in!" he egged on Valon. He shook his head. "Watch them go! They'd eat the whole house if it was a pastry!"

"It's like watching twin black holes devour the universe," Leon agreed. "It reminds me of that fairytale where the hero is helped by a fairy who can eat a whole room full of sausages and drink a cellar full of ale."

Joey swallowed the donut in his mouth. "Bring it," he crowed. "Joey Wheeler can eat any sausages anywhere!" He bit savagely into the next donut.

"But what about the ale?" Leon asked doubtfully.

"Don't let him try it," Raphael said. "If he's anything like Valon, he'll be a terror when he's drunk."

Bakura scratched his head. "Actually, I can't recall every seeing Joey drunk."

"Joey doesn't drink," Yugi said quietly. Tristan nodded. Alcohol had destroyed Joey's family; the last thing he would see it as was the ticket to a good time. The others dropped the subject and went back to watching the contest.

"What's going on in here?"

The guys turned. "Hey, Marik, come on in!" Tristan welcomed the blond Egyptian. Marik Ishtar walked into the kitchen, followed by his adoptive brother Odion and his older sister Ishizu. Mokuba tossed the well-depleted box of donuts towards them. Odion caught it. 'Have some donuts!" he said cheerfully.

Ishizu's wry gaze took in the crowded kitchen full of guys and the heated donut match, and she chuckled. "I think perhaps I will find some shopping to do this morning, or perhaps some sight-seeing. I am told there are many lovely vistas close by to the ranch."

"Oh, okay," Marik said, picking a donut out of the box.

"You're going to let her go by herself?" Raphael asked, standing up.

"It's not like she can't take care of herself," Marik protested, but Raphael ignored him.

"Why don't I go with you? I know some of the sights around here, and I could use some fresh air," he said to Ishizu.

Ishizu smiled. "That sounds lovely."

As they left together, Yugi gave Odion a puzzled look. "If she needed someone to go with her, why didn't she just ask you?"

"Ishizu is perfectly capable of going alone," said Odion, smiling. "Far more capable than Raphael is of letting her do so."

Joey swallowed again. "It's this wedding business, I betcha. It makes everybody act screwy."

"That's the truth," Yugi muttered. Tristan gave him a hard look, but any chance at conservation was lost when they heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Yugi turned and his breath caught as Rebecca walked into the room.

……

"What's so great about men, anyway?" Téa asked her reflection as she brushed her hair. "I don't need anybody to be happy. I've got my dancing, a great career, lots of money, friends—well castmates, anyway…aw, forget it." She threw the brush down. "Who am I kidding? At this rate I'll end up old, filthy rich, and completely alone. Who's going to take care of me when I break my hip and can't dance anymore? Who's going to tell me I look beautiful when I eat tons of consolation chocolate and blow up like a balloon?" She frowned at her image in the mirror. The young woman that stared back at her was beautiful, yes, and perfectly polished, maybe a little _too_ polished. There was something not quite real about her.

Téa thought for a moment, then dashed to her closet. She had brought with her an elegant red dress that everyone said looked sophisticated on her. The trouble was she hated the dress, the way it felt, the way it looked, the way it made her feel. But it did make her look stunning, so she had brought it along for good measure. She decided then and there that she was not going to wear it. But the dress laced up in the back with a cream-colored ribbon. Téa tugged the ribbon out, fetched the scissors in her emergency sewing kit, and snipped off a nice-sized piece. Carefully, in front of the mirror, she looped it around her head as a headband, tying it off with a little bow a little off to one side. The bow was just a bit sloppy, but cute. Perfect. Or rather, not perfect, but just right.

Téa grinned. Even after how ugly yesterday had turned out, today felt good. Maybe today could be a day for do-overs, a day to get things back to the way they were supposed to be. She felt like doing something, something fun and exciting and not serious. She dug her cell phone out of her purse and dialed. "Hey, Serenity? It's Téa. Got any plans for today?"

……

There was a stunned silence as Rebecca swept into the room. Yugi stared. Rebecca was wearing a pale turquoise scoop top that showed off the silver daisy pendant she wore, and a short navy skirt that showed off her curvy legs. Her glossy blonde hair flowed loosely around her shoulders. She was wearing contacts; her green eyes shone out, sans glasses, confident and alluring. A soft smile played at her raspberry lips as she turned towards Yugi. She looked…wow.

"Good morning," Rebecca said, not addressing anyone in particular, but looking straight at Yugi.

Yugi stared at her, unsure how to react. Rebecca hadn't spoken to him since they'd left the restaurant last night. Was she still angry with him or was she trying to make up? "Good morning," he managed finally. Rebecca just looked at him, was she waiting for something or still not speaking to him? He couldn't tell. After a moment, she bit her lip and turned away. Yugi swallowed, unable to escape the sinking feeling that he'd failed some kind of test.

The others in the kitchen murmured their greetings and received a polite nod. Then Mokuba said, "Wow, Rebecca, you look spectacular!"

Rebecca reddened suddenly. She grinned, almost shyly. "You think so?" Yugi felt jealousy flare up inside him. Where did Mokuba get off…and Rebecca… was she _blushing_? He scowled. Rebecca glanced at him. Her tone changed. "Thanks for noticing, Mokuba. Some people don't, y'know." She turned a significant glare in Yugi's direction and their eyes connected for a brief instant before she quickly turned away.

Yugi felt like he had been punched in the stomach. She was right of course. Why couldn't he have been the one to say how beautiful she looked? It wasn't as he hadn't noticed; it wasn't like he didn't care. He just….didn't. He stared miserably at his coffee cup.

Rebecca walked across the kitchen to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. She took a sip. "I'm going over to the church to work on the computer system," she announced.

"I'll come with you," Mokuba said, starting to gather up his belongings.

"Me too," Leon added quickly. "That system's more trouble than two people can handle."

Yugi tried to grin sheepishly. "I'm afraid I don't know all that much about computers. I'd probably just get in the way."

"Probably," Rebecca agreed briskly. She didn't bother to look at him and she didn't say goodbye before she, Leon, and Mokuba left the house.

"Ouch," Tristan commented as soon as the door shut behind him. "Serious burn, man."

"I'd say frostbite, actually," Bakura said. "You could practically feel the wave of cold air when she walked past. Isn't it a little early for the quarreling? You haven't even had a honeymoon yet."

"Who says we're quarreling?" Yugi asked crossly. "I never said we had a quarrel."

"Hey, would ya stop jabbering about squirrels; I'm tryin' ta eat here!"

"Well, it's sort of blatantly obvious, Yugi. What with you sulking into your coffee and Rebecca walking about with a gigantic chip on her shoulder, what's a rational mind to do but to deduct that the two of you had a falling out of some kind?"

"Couldn't have said it better. So, what did you do, anyway? Lemme guess, you were shirking all your groom responsibilities again."

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"No? Well, you crashed her laptop?"

"No, that's not it, Tristan. Let me think now…Oh, great scott, you didn't go and lose the ring did you?"

"No! Now would you two please leave me alone?"

"Doesn't anybody care that I'm tryin' to eat donuts here?"

"NO!" yelled all three simultaneously. Tristan and Bakura looked at each other and laughed, but Yugi didn't join them.

Tristan glanced at him and his expression changed. "Oh boy. This is really serious, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Yugi sighed.

"Like it could be weeks before it's over serious?

Yugi bit his lip before replying, "Like it could really _be_ over serious."


	14. Plans

Chapter Fourteen: Distractions

"It's so cute!" Serenity squealed. "It's perfect for you, Téa! It sets off your eyes just right."

"You think so?" Téa smiled as she held up the pale blue sweater.

"It's great. You have to buy it."

"It is pretty nice, isn't it?" Téa considered it thoughtfully. "I dunno, Ren."

"What, not your style?"

"No, it's just I feel like an old fifties housewife buying clothes to make myself feel better." She gestured at the cute red shoes and sleek black handbag that she was already carrying. "Does this just scream 'pathetic'?"

"No," Serenity shook her head. "But it does beg the question, what exactly are you trying to make yourself feel better about?"

"Exactly!" Téa flung down her soon-to-be purchases. "It's like the fashion version of drowning your cares in mint chocolate chip ice cream."

"At least it won't hurt your figure," Serenity pointed out.

"Yeah, just my wallet."

"Aw, the poor widdle Broadway star has to buy her own shoes." Serenity pulled such a ridiculously childish pouty face that Téa couldn't help laughing.

"But seriously, Serenity," Téa said after the laughter had subsided, "I don't want to buy stuff just because it makes me feel good and I'm desperate for the self-esteem boost."

"It's not a crime to want to feel good about yourself," Serenity said. "Clothes are _supposed_ to make you feel good. If they don't, you're obviously buying the wrong stuff."

"Where were you my freshman year of school?" Téa smiled. "But the clothes aren't going to make me feel good if I'm just buying them to bury my problems. Going on a materialistic buying binge can't be any healthier than eating an entire pan of brownies."

Serenity laughed. "Well, when you put it that way…" She bit her lip, then said seriously, "So, what happened last night?" Téa looked away. Serenity frowned and shook her head. "Don't give me that, Téa. You leave half-way through the rehearsal, never show up to the dinner, and now you keep talking about feeling sorry for yourself and trying to cheer up. Something happened. And you want to talk about it." She held up a hand to forestall Téa's protest. "Yes, you do want to talk about it. Otherwise you wouldn't keep bringing it up." She arched an eyebrow at Téa, coupled with a slightly smug smile.

Téa sighed and capitulated. "Alright, alright. You sure you're ready for this, though?"

"Is it that bad?"

Téa rubbed her forehead with a weary gesture. "You have no idea."

…

"Wait, dude, are you serious? She caught you with Téa?"

Yugi turned red. "Don't say it like that! We weren't doing anything! We were just talking for pete's sakes! Why does everyone have to assume the worst?"

Tristan scratched his head and looked at his friend. "Well, do you think maybe it has anything to do with the fact that you and Téa have been acting strange ever since she showed up?"

"That's not true," Yugi protested weakly. "We've barely even been together at all. How could anyone think…"

"What about that little rendezvous two nights back?" Tristan inquired, tone light and teasing, but with a serious strain underneath. "You and Téa alone at night…nothing happened there either, right?"

"Nothing did! She was coming back from a date, for goodness' sake!" Yugi expression suddenly changed. "How did you know about that anyway?"

Tristan chuckled. "Oh, I have my sources."

"You don't think Rebecca knows, do you?" Yugi asked him.

Tristan gave his friend a shrewd glance. "Would it make a difference if she did?"

"Well…" Yugi began awkwardly, "I mean, I wouldn't her to take anything the wrong way."

Tristan sighed and shook his head. "I don't think she does. But Yug', just listen to yourself, man. Keeping stuff from Rebecca, getting all flustered whenever someone so much as mentions Téa's name…I think you need a reality check."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yugi protested, an angry flush beginning to rise on his cheeks.

Tristan put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. His voice was low, friendly, and reasonable. "Yugi, I think it's time you thought long and hard about what's going on in your life and considered the possibility that you still have feelings for Téa."

Yugi jerked away. "I _don't_, Tristan. I keep telling people that; why doesn't anyone listen to me?"

"Actions speak louder than words, Yug'. And y'know, there's this river in Egypt…"

"Oh, shut up!" Yugi turned his back on the tall brunette. "I'm not in love with Téa, okay?"

"Are you in love with Rebecca?"

Yugi opened his mouth to say "Of course", but then swallowed as a horrible realization came over him. "I…I don't know, Tristan." His voice sounded scared and desperate. "Oh man, I don't know. I don't know."

Tristan sat him down on the couch. "Now don't go catatonic on me, bud. That's not going to help anyone." He laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Now we're just going to talk this out, real slow and easy. So, how do you feel about Rebecca?"

"I don't really know. I mean, I still care about her and everything. I still think she's an amazing person, and she's beautiful, and well…everything about her that I fell in love with is still there, I guess, but I just don't feel it anymore." Yugi shrugged his shoulders hopelessly.

"Well, you can't just go on mushy feelings alone. Those are bound to fade from time to time. You're sure this isn't just cold feet?"

"I wish I was sure. That might make things easier. What if I'm just a commitment-phobe who's about to throw away the best thing he ever had because he got a little jittery in the endgame?"

"I'm not going to lie to you. That's a distinct possibility. So, you still picture yourself with Rebecca? I mean, growing old together and all that jazz?"

"Well, that's the thing…I never really did." Yugi looked down. "We started going out last summer in Egypt and it just seemed so right, like it was the most natural thing in the world to be with her. Then we came back to the States, things got more serious, and she wanted to get married. Well, if a beautiful, smart, funny woman who you loved and who loved you wanted to marry you, what would you do? So I proposed. And she accepted of course, and here we are."

"So you never really wanted to marry her?"

Yugi shook his head. "I wouldn't say that. It wasn't my idea, but I thought it was a good one; that's why I asked her. She didn't force me into it or anything, she just sorta set a faster pace than I'd expected. I'd thought about spending the next few years with her, going on more digs together, maybe going to school together, you know, but not about marriage. I'd just never really pictured, for example, _raising kids with her_. Not that it's a bad thought but…" he frowned, "it just seems strange, even now. Maybe especially now."

Tristan looked at him appraisingly. "So, at the risk of flogging a dead horse, what about Téa?"

…

"Y'know, this is really good coffee," Serenity said, sipping from a tall styrofoam cup. "This is such a cute little shop. Remind me to make Tristan bring me here sometime before we leave."

"Quit stalling already, and tell me what you think." Téa crumpled a napkin in her hand and directed a glare at the auburn-haired girl.

Serenity giggled. 'You're so tense, Téa." As her friend's glare turned murderous, Serenity laughed and held up her hand. "Alright, alright." She took a sip of coffee. "You've got yourself into a sticky situation no doubt, girl. But actually, I think I have a simple solution."

"Really."

"Try not to sound so skeptical. This is pure genius here."

Téa smiled. "Y'know, I think Joey might be rubbing off on you a little too much. Anyway, what's your big plan?"

"Forget about it." Serenity leaned back and sipped at her coffee, watching Téa's reaction. "No, I mean it. You've been obsessing over this, I can tell, and you're letting it take over your life. You said you just wanted to let go of things…well, I'm going to pry open your hand." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Picture this: you lying on a sunny, California beach, and the sun, and the wind, and the waves just washing all your worries away."

Téa closed her eyes. "Mmm, sounds lovely." She squinted at Serenity. "If you hold your cup up to your ear, you can almost hear the ocean."

"Oh, you!" Serenity balled up a napkin and tossed it at Téa. "I'm serious. Joey, Mai, Tristan, and I are going to the beach tomorrow. Why don't you come with us? It'll do you good."

"Oh," Téa frowned pensively. "I don't know, Ren. I don't want to intrude on your vacation."

"It's no intrusion. Come on, it'll be fun."

But Téa was still shaking her head. "If it's this couples' thing…"

"We're not going to make out in front of you, if that's what you're worried about," Serenity said dryly. "You're our friend, Téa, you're not going to be in the way."

"Really?"

"Really." Serenity smiled. "Do we have a deal?" She put out her hand.

Téa hesitated, but shook it. She smiled. "Alright. I guess I could use a break from all this drama."

"Awesome! You're not going to regret it, I promise, Téa." Serenity sprang up excitedly from her seat.

Téa slowly got up and followed her friend out of the coffee shop. "Yeah, but there's just one problem."

"What's that?"

Téa bit her lip. "I didn't pack a swimsuit."

Serenity laughed. "I think we can take care of that."

…

The church was almost silent except for the constant clicking of keyboards and mice. No one spoke. Rebecca reined in a sigh. She wasn't making any headway at all. It was just like last night, no matter what she tried, nothing seemed to work. She glanced over at Leon and Mokuba, both typing away at their respective laptops. She shook her head. She just didn't understand it. She'd faced down firewalls, security codes, viruses, you name it, she'd taken care of it. She was good with computers. She understood computers. Computers you could analyze and figure out how they worked, and fix all their problems. People, on the other hand, were a whole different issue.

But this computer was different. It evaded every attempt at diagnosis, came up clean on every single system sweep she did, yet stubbornly refused to do the simplest of tasks when she asked it to. It was infuriating, and impossible. What could the church have possibly done to their computers that was so damaging, yet so undetectable? Rebecca had never seen anything like it…except for maybe a very good hacker. But who would bother to hack a church computer? There wasn't any information of value and Rebecca couldn't see what anyone had to gain from the inconvenience to the church. Aside from her troubles and demands, the church hadn't even noticed. The deacon she had talked to had eyed her suspiciously when she had explained her problems, and she couldn't blame him for being doubtful. Nothing came up on any virus scans; she couldn't latch onto anything concrete. It was only when she attempted to do wedding things that she had trouble. It was almost as if…no, it couldn't be. But it was very much like someone was trying to sabotage her wedding.

Rebecca laughed silent, mirthlessly. If someone was trying to wreck her wedding, they were wasting their time with the computers. All the fancy trappings were just fluff; it was the substance of the thing that was in real jeopardy. She pictured Yugi and Téa standing inches apart, Yugi staring in Téa eyes with a breathless expression on his face. Rebecca scowled. Her fingers flew savagely across the keys, as if to erase the image seared into her mind. But no matter what keys she pressed, she could never find the backspace to her memories. There was no going back, she knew, only forward. What had happened had happened, and now she simply needed to decide what to do about it.

"Everything going alright, Rebecca?" Leon's quiet voice invaded her thoughts.

Rebecca swiveled in her chair to face him, forcing a smile to her face. "Everything's fine except for the little fact that I'm making no progress whatsoever. How are things going for you?"

Leon shrugged. "Not much better, I'm afraid."

"It's like trying to run through a brick wall," Rebecca mused. She sighed. "I'm starting to think this wedding is doomed. "

"Some ancient curse you picked up in Egypt, perhaps?" Leon suggested with a grin.

Rebecca smiled back, knowing he was trying to make her feel better by laughing the whole thing off. "Perhaps," she agreed lightly. "Now if only I could find the counterspell."

"That is the question," Leon agreed. He put a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Don't fret over this, Rebecca. We're going to get the computers back to normal soon enough." He shook his head. "You ought to be with your fiancé, not holed up slaving over computers all day. Why don't you go? I'm sure Mokuba and I can make plenty of progress without you here. You and Yugi can go for a walk or something."

"That's sweet of you, Leon, but…" Rebecca shook her head softly as her voice trailed off. "It's alright, it really is." She turned back to her laptop and began typing again, but glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "I can't let you boys have all the fun, can I?" Leon just laughed and returned to his work. Rebecca looked back at the computer screen and skimmed through over the results of the latest virus scan. Nothing. She bit her lip. _Are we having fun yet?_ she wondered.


	15. Distractions

A/N: Wow, sorry about the long delay. I'm working on an original story, so my fanfiction projects have been getting shortchanged. In reply to reviews, yeah, I realize the story's starting to drag a little, and I'm trying to pick up the pace. After the story is finished, I'm going to go back and trim a lot of the unnecessary stuff. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Fifteen: Distractions

Tristan's question hung in the air. Yugi shifted awkwardly. "I don't really see what Téa has to do with it," he said finally. "I'm not falling out of love with Rebecca because I'm falling in love with Téa."

"Are you sure of that?" There was no trace of teasing in Tristan's eyes.

Yugi hesitated. Could he honestly say that deep down there not a trace left of his former feelings for Téa? Could he been completely sure that these traces had no impact on his relationship with Rebecca? He took a deep breath. "I—"

"Hey, Tristan, are there any more donuts? We ran out." Joey popped his head into the room. "Hey, whatcha guys talking about?"

"Nothing," Yugi said quickly, getting up. "Let me see if there are any donuts in the cupboard, Joey." He walked to the kitchen; Tristan followed reluctantly.

There weren't any more donuts. Bakura offered to go out for more, but Marik and Odion figured they should be going anyway, and Valon said he wasn't feeling quite so hungry anymore. In fact, Valon wasn't doing so great, much to Joey's crowing, though the blonde was feeling a little sick himself. In the end, the four decided to go back to the hotel, where Valon could lie down and the other three could get some work down.

After they left, Tristan tried to corner Yugi again, but Yugi just waved him off and sat down on a stool. "Get me some coffee, please, if you don't mind, Joey."

Tristan sighed and sat. "Goes for me, too."

In a moment, the blond handed them their mugs and took a stool and took a sip from his own mug. "Good stuff."

"I guess." Yugi took a half-hearted swig of coffee.

Joey frowned at him. "What's with you today, Yug? You've been acting all mopey and down in the dumps all day. Is something wrong?" Yugi just shrugged. Joey studied him quizzically for another moment, and then nudged him with his elbow, a grin spreading over his face. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty rough to have your wedding postponed, huh, Yug? If it weren't for those computers, you'd be on your honeymoon tonight instead of bunking with me and Tristan."

"Yeah, and I bet Rebecca doesn't snore," Yugi shot back.

"I don't snore," Joey protested.

Tristan snorted. "Of course not, you just like to fire up your chainsaw every night."

"Oh ho, look who's talking, Tristan. You could make a family of woodpeckers go deaf."

"Keep dreaming, Joey, that's your echo you're hearing."

Any further repartee was cut off when the front door swung open. "We're baaaack!" Serenity announced cheerfully, swinging shopping bags with gusto from either arm. Téa followed her inside, smiling, but subdued, though her arms were equally full.

"Hey, the girls are back!" Joey said, getting up to greet them and help them with their bags.

"Wow, Mai's got you well-trained," said Téa, as Joey slid a heavy bag off her arm, darting a meaningful glance towards the still-seated males. They took the hint and soon swarmed around her and Serenity, taking the bags and setting them on the counter.

"The good thing about just being engaged to Serenity is that she still pays for all this stuff," Tristan commented as he slung a particularly heavy bag onto the counter.

"Hey, at least my sister's got a sense of economy," Joey replied. "Have you seen the way Mai shops? You'd think money grew on trees, the way she spends it."

"Money doesn't grow on trees, you dumb blonde," a familiar voice came from the hallway. Mai walked into the kitchen with her trademark smirk firmly stamped on her face. "Otherwise I'd get a nifty handbag of the stuff."

"Good morning to you too, Mai," Joey said. "Or should I say good afternoon. Didya get your beauty sleep in?"

Mai lifted her arms and twirled like a model. "Do I even have to answer that question?" Her violet eyes glinted.

"Absolutely not. No question at all," said Joey quickly.

Mai smirked. "Good." She smoothed aside his unruly bangs and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Miss me, sunshine?"

"Yeah." There was a brief, charged silence between the two before Joey pulled her lips down onto his own. A groan escaped Mai's lips and she pressed herself against him and entwined her fingers in his hair.

"Uh, PDA, hello?" Téa looked away awkwardly.

Serenity blushed. "Joey! You promised not to make out in front of me!"

Tristan put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay; just don't look at them."

"Well, it's kind of hard not to," she said. "I mean when they're…" she turned red again and looked away, "…it's distracting."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to distract you more," Tristan said, and promptly kissed her.

Téa turned pink and looked away…right in the direction of Joey and Mai. She threw up her hands and hastily whirled in a safe direction. "Yugi, help! They're all making out!"

Yugi grinned, though his face was also red. He stepped toward her. "Yeah, they keep pulling this one on me." He shook his head with a light laugh.

Téa smiled back, the humor easing her embarrassment. "Hard luck, them doing it now, when you don't have anyone to kiss."

The words hung in the air a moment too long. A fresh wave of red washed Téa's cheeks. "I mean…," she started awkwardly.

"I know," Yugi said quickly, smiling to diffuse the situation.

"Right," Téa said brightly, nodding briskly. She looked around awkwardly. "Ugh, they're _still_ at it?" She stared at Mai and Joey's entwining forms and grimaced comically. "Brain…searing…images…make it stop."

Yugi laughed and covered her eyes. "That better?" he asked, swinging her around.

Téa laughed. He lifted his hand and she blinked at him. Her smile froze for a moment. Here they were, laughing, teasing, and goofing off like friends. But they were a breath too close, their cheeks a shade too red, hearts a beat too fast. Téa let an easy, friendly smile return to her face. "Yeah," she said lightly, and took a step back. She turned to Tristan and Serenity and tapped Tristan's shoulder. "Okay, break it up, you two. Save it for the honeymoon." She did the same to Joey. "Don't make me break out the airhorn," she told him.

Reluctantly, the couples separated. Serenity, flushed, brushed back a few stray strands of hair. Téa linked arms with her. "Ren and I are going to sort through our purchases; you can come if you want, Mai. Boys, stay out of trouble." Gathering their bags back up in their arms, Téa, Serenity, and Mai went up the stairs. Serenity and Mai exchanged a few last flirtatious glances with their guys, but Téa looked straight ahead. She wouldn't let herself look back to see if maybe, just maybe, Yugi was looking up at her.

…

Yugi watched as she walked up the stairs, a sort of hesitant half-smile on his lips. He tried to turn away, knowing in a moment she would look back and catch him staring, but he couldn't pull his eyes away. It didn't matter; she didn't look back. He bit his lip, feeling foolish for being just a little disappointed. What was wrong with him? The crush he had on Téa once was a high school thing, puppy love, long gone now. They were just friends now. There wasn't any reason for his skin to tingle when he touched her, no reason for his head to spin when she got just a little too close. There wasn't any good logical explanation, but there it was. Yugi scowled. Everything in his life had made perfect sense before. Everything had been laid out into the perfect plan. He'd marry Rebecca, go on his honeymoon, move to Egypt, while Rebecca worked on her doctorate, and then they'd move back to the States, settle down in a nice house, and raise a family. Everything had been nice, simple, and settled. Then Téa walked in, and one spark from her blue eyes had lit a flame that threatened to consume everything he'd worked for. He'd tried to douse it, but to no avail.

Tristan looked at him, and some of what he was feeling must have shown in his face, because the brunette walked over to him. "I've been thinking about what you said," Tristan said.

"Please don't say anything," Yugi said, looking down. "I know what you're going to say, and I…"

"No, man, just listen," Tristan clapped him on the back, "I was thinking, have you tried working on your relationship with Rebecca?"

"What, do you mean like going to see a shrink?"

"Not necessarily…though if things get any more complicated around here, I'll be getting an appointment, you can bet on that. But I meant more everyday kind of stuff, y'know, taking her out to dinner, flowers, all that jazz. Try to reopen the lines of communication."

Yugi frowned. "In case you haven't noticed, Rebecca's not all that keen on me, right now."

Tristan laughed. "That's true. But that's why you gotta do it, man. Problem's not going to go away unless you fix it."

"Well, I guess…"

"If Rebecca loves ya, she's not going to stay mad forever. It doesn't have to be some moonlit dinner for two, just a simple gesture, for starters, to let her know you still care. Y'know, just try to rekindle the flame." Tristan glanced at Joey, who had stopped making puppy's eyes at the now-gone Mai and was starting to walk over towards his friends. "Anyhow, just a thought. Give it a shot, okay?"

"I'll think about, Tristan," Yugi told him. He mulled over Tristan's words, _rekindle the flame_…A light sparked in his eyes. Maybe, trying to quench his feelings for Téa had been the wrong approach all along. Maybe what he should do was fight fire with fire.

…

"Maybe there's a corrupted driver."

"I've checked all the drivers," Leon said quietly.

Rebecca sighed. "Overheating? Maybe the hard drive burned out?"

"In this room?" Mokuba laughed. "It's like the North Pole in here." Rebecca glared at him.

"I've checked. The hard drive's fine," said Leon.

Rebecca paced. "What the software? Maybe it can't handle the demands of the slideshow." She knew she was grasping at straws, but it had to be _something._

"I don't think that's very likely."

"Maybe not likely, but it's possible, right?"

Leon shrugged. "I suppose."

"Then let's check it out," Rebecca said with determination. Leon hesitated, nodded slowly, and then joined her at the computer. Rebecca knew he was humoring her, but they had to explore every possibility, no matter how distant. They could leave no stone unturned.

"It looks like the software's fine," Leon said softly, interrupting her thoughts. "I guess we'll have to look elsewhere for the problem."

Rebecca deflated. "But we're running out of options. What's left? A virus."

"A virus?" Leon said doubtfully. "It's possible, but we must have run a dozen virus scans already."

"At least," Rebecca agreed. "But there's nothing else it could be, is there?"

Leon scratched his head. "I can't think of anything." He sighed. "How are we supposed to fix a virus we can't even find?"

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be a genius or something?" Rebecca asked playfully.

"I think I could ask you the same question, Miss Hawkins." Mokuba walked up to her, laughter in his grey-blue eyes.

Rebecca smiled. "Alright, I admit it. I _am_ a genius."

Mokuba grinned. "How fortuitous. I've always wanted to have lunch with a genius."

"Fortuitous. Nice word," Rebecca murmured. Then she blinked. "Lunch? But…"

"Apparently geniuses don't wear watches," Mokuba laughed.

Rebecca glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Oh…" Now that she thought of it, she _was_ hungry. She smiled at Mokuba. "Lunch sounds great."

"Wonderful. Any ideas?"

"There's a nice Italian place not too far from here," Rebecca suggested. "How does that sound?"

Mokuba grinned "Muy bien."

Rebecca gave him a playful shove. "That's Spanish, dummy."

"My mistake." Mokuba helped Rebecca with her coat. Unlike yesterday, the day was clear and sunny, but the air still had a bite to it. He shrugged his own on. "You coming, Leon?"

The red-head shook his head. "No thanks. I'm not really into Italian food. You two go ahead. I think I'll just fiddle with a couple more things here."

"Well, alright, if you're sure," said Rebecca doubtfully. She knew she couldn't wait to get out of here. Normally, she loved working with computers, but right now, she felt like sending a rock through the next monitor she saw. A nice relaxing lunch out was just what she needed. She smiled up at Mokuba and took his arm. He smiled back at her.

"Shall we?"

…

"Here we are," Rebecca announced, hopping out of the driver's seat before Mokuba could get to her door. She slid a hand softly over the hood. "This is such a sweet ride, Mokuba. Wish I had a billionaire older brother to float me the cash for one of these."

Mokuba inwardly winced at the implication he was living off his brother, but forced a carefree smile and expertly changed the subject. "Grad school not cheap, huh?"

Rebecca made a face. "No. Ugh, don't remind me how much work I need to do on my thesis. Stupid thing's almost as difficult as the computer system."

They had nearly walked to the restaurant's entrance when it hit him. They had been deep in conversation nearly the whole trip, and he had let Rebecca drive, but still, how had he not noticed? _Trés Amore_. Rebecca had brought him to the restaurant he frequented whenever business brought him to L.A. The very restaurant where he had taken Téa two nights ago.

"Mokuba? Is something wrong?" Rebecca peered up at him anxiously.

"Huh? No. I'm fine." Mokuba laughed. "Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a second."

"Oh? Am I that boring?" Rebecca pouted playfully.

Mokuba chuckled. "No." He meant to stop there, but before he knew the words had slipped out. "You're adorable."

A stunned expression replaced her playful pout. Rebecca stared at him. "Mokuba…"

He stared back, equally stunned for a moment, before he recovered himself. "You're like a little puppy begging for kitchen scraps," he teasing, laughing the whole thing off. "Is that how you got Yugi to agree to marry you?"

"Well, I had to do the puppy paws thing, see." Rebecca held her hands beneath her chin and did an imitation of a begging puppy. She laughed, and so did he. He tucked his arm around her.

"Come on, Fido. Let's get you some puppy chow."


	16. Sunshine

Chapter Sixteen: Sunshine

Warm air rushed over the open top of the sleek purple convertible as it cruised down the road, the laughter of its occupants spilling behind it. The girls giggled, gossiped, and sang very badly at the top of their lungs, the troubles and quarrels of days past put behind them. Beach trips could do that.

At last the convertible pulled into the parking lot, only a clear stretch of grass away from a delicious length of white sand and beyond that the ocean, its tossing waves glittering in the sun. "Well, ladies, here we are," Mai said, looking over her shoulder and grinning at her passengers.

Serenity gasped in appreciation. "It's so pretty!" She hastily undid her seatbelt and dashed out of the car.

"Hey! Serenity!" Téa protested, but it was too late to stop the auburn-haired girl. Laughing, Serenity ran down the stretch of beach, her hair blowing in the breeze. She tumbled into the waves with a splash, giggling madly.

She waved her arms, dancing in the shifting water. "It's so gorgeous!" she exulted. "It's the perfect day!"

Téa couldn't argue with that. The sky was clear and blue, without a hint of clouds, the sun was bright, the day was warm…It _was_ perfect. She grinned. Serenity was right. This was just what she needed. "All right, Miss Mermaid, come help me with the chairs," she called.

Serenity bounded out of the water and ran up to the car. Together, Téa, Serenity, and Mai brought the chairs, umbrellas, towels, and cooler out of the car and set up their spot.

"I'm glad we came early," Téa commented, surveying the beach. "It's nice and empty right now, but I bet it'll get crowded; it's such a nice day."

"Yeah," said Serenity with a sigh of contentment.

Téa laughed. "You really do love the ocean, don't you?"

Serenity nodded emphatically. "It's my favorite place in the whole world."

Mai frowned. "Where have the boys got to?" She picked up her cell phone, but before she could dial, Téa spotted Joey's pick-up.

In a few minutes, Joey and Tristan joined them, carrying only their towels. "Is that all you brought?" Téa asked.

Confused, Joey said, "Well, there's a volleyball in the truckbed…"

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads. _Men_.

Tristan nodded back towards the road. "Mokuba called and said he was running a little behind. He'll be here in a few."

"_Mokuba?_" Téa kept her voice down, but it had all the timbre of a roar. "What is he doing here?" Téa had a nasty inkling she already knew.

Mai smiled oh-so innocently. "Well, Serenity said you might feel like a fifth wheel, so I invited Mokuba to make the numbers even."

Téa fought to remain calm. _Mai didn't mean anything,_ she told herself. _She's my friend…She's just trying to help…_ "How could you do this to me!" Téa howled, her eyes bulging and her hands twitching with the urge to wring Mai's pretty little neck.

"Cool it, Téa. Don't get your bikini bottom in a bunch." Mai nonchalantly squirted tanning oil on her hand and began rubbing it in. "It's not like you have to make out with him…unless you want to."

Téa spluttered incoherently and turned the exact shade of a brand-new fire engine. "I'm so going to kill you, Mai," she hissed.

"Hey guys! What's going on?"

Téa whirled to see Mokuba smiling and waving. She'd never felt more humiliated in her life. She wanted to make like an ostrich and bury her head in the sand, except ostriches didn't really do that, and besides, it wouldn't help things anyway. So she made herself calm down and smile affably, if a little awkwardly. "Hey, Mokuba."

Mokuba grinned. "Hey yourself, Téa. You look nice."

"Oh, thanks." Téa automatically glanced down at her swimsuit, royal blue with big white polka dots. It was a two-piece, but more modest than many of the cuts in the store. That was one of the advantages of shopping with Serenity, Téa reflected. Mai would never have let her leave without a bikini.

"Hey, Mokuba, should I bring the umbrella?" called Leon. Téa was suddenly aware that Mokuba was not alone. Leon and Bakura were unpacking Mokuba's sports car, while a trio of motorcycles kicked up a cloud of dust in the parking lot.

"Yeah, bring it down," Mokuba called back. He turned to Mai. "I, uh, kinda invited some more people. I hope that's okay. If it's not, we can go to the other end of the beach or something."

"Sure, whatever," Mai mumbled, but Téa could tell by the look in her eyes that she was Not Happy. Her heart sank. This was supposed to be Mai and Joey's and Tristan and Serenity's special getaway, and now it had turned into a class fieldtrip. She sighed, grabbed a bottle of sunscreen, and squirted some on her hands. She sat down on her towel and started rubbing it in. At least it was still a beautiful day. She could still relax. So what if everyone was here? Yugi wasn't, at least. Right? She sat bolt upright and scrambled over to the parking lot, where Mokuba had gone to join Leon with the unpacking.  
"Wow, what a crowd," Téa said casually. "Who's here?"

"Y'know, I don't even really know anymore." Mokuba pulled at his hair. "I swear I didn't plan this. They just multiplied, like rats…flies…fleas…math teachers…"

Téa laughed. "Well, just as long as you didn't bring _my_ math teacher along."

"I think I avoided that. Let's see…there's me, Leon, Bakura. Then Bakura invited the Ishtars…"

"But Ishizu didn't come," Marik interrupted. "She's off with _Raphael_." He rolled his eyes.

"How do you like that?" Valon shook his head. "Me best mate just ditches me for some girl." He sniffed dramatically. "Luckily, me mate Marik invited me to tag along." He slapped Marik heartily on the back. The slimmer boy winced.

"Great." Téa tried hard not to sound sarcastic. "So, is that all of you? No one else came? Duke? Rebecca? Yugi?"

"That's all—unless you count Valon's fleas." Marik tousled the brunette's hair and laughed.

"Oh-kay. I think that's all I wanted to know." Téa beat a hasty retreat back to their spot. Well, at least that was one thing less to worry about. Not that she was worried. Not at all.

"Hey, Téa!" Serenity called from the water, "stop gawking, get your sunscreen on, and get down here!"

Téa grinned as she quickly finished applying the lotion and dashed down to the waves. She barely stifled a shriek as she ran into the water. "It's cold!" she shouted accusatorily at Serenity.

The auburn-haired girl just laughed. "Oh, you'll get used to it. Don't be such a baby." Cool blue water splashed up around her as Téa ventured out to where Serenity stood. "Isn't it great?" Serenity laughed.

As a gentle swell washed over them, Téa held her breath and went underwater. The cold water and briny smell invigorated her senses. She came up for air, only to be bowled over by a strong wave. Serenity gasped. "Are you alright?"

Téa picked herself off the sand, laughing so hard that her stomached ached and it was hard to breathe. Serenity grinned at her in relief. _Relief_. It flooded through Téa's body, expelling the tension that it had stored for far too long. Téa splashed playfully at Serenity. "I'm just peachy."

….

Yugi paced. Where was she? It had been five minutes already. Was she coming? He wiped his palms on his jeans. Maybe she wasn't going to show up. Maybe she'd forgotten—or more likely, she didn't want to talk to him. She had given him only a non-committal grunt when he's spoken to her this morning. He groaned. As nervous as he was that she wouldn't show up, deep down he knew that he was more afraid she _would_. What was he going to say to her? What if she didn't like it? What if he couldn't find the words? What if this whole plan royally flopped?

Well, he couldn't keep thinking like this. _Just think of it like a duel,_ he thought, trying to psych himself up. _You have to believe in yourself. You can do this. You're the King of Games. Nothing and no one can keep you from victory…Even if you don't understand women at all. _This wasn't working. He wiped away a bead of sweat from his forehead and checked his watch. Seven minutes late. Seven minutes of utter torment. Where was she?

"Yugi?" At the sound of Rebecca's voice, Yugi went rigid. "Yugi, are you there? Hey, listen, you better not have made me traipse all the way out to this park just to stand me up!"

Yugi swallowed, and somehow managed to croak, "Rebecca? Is that you?"

"Well, who else do you think it could be? Kaiba?" She stepped into the grove, and every thought in Yugi's head flew out his ears.

She wore a cherry-checked sundress and a mischievous grin. Yugi stopped short. She hadn't wore her hair in pigtails for years, but there they were, bobbing against her neck as she walked up to him. "Hello, Yugi." He just stared at her. She laughed, then pretended to pout. "What, don't I even get a hello?"

"Rebecca…you look…wonderful." The first word that had popped into his head was adorable,but that sounded a bit too patronizing.

She smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."

"But…I didn't dress up." It was true; he was wearing the same jeans and button-down shirt he'd worn all day.

She shrugged. "You don't have to." She leaned forward and Yugi thought about dropping a kiss on her cheek, but the distance between them was still too far. The moment passed, and Yugi looked down awkwardly, shifting his weight.

Rebecca, forthright as ever, broke the awkward silence. "You said something about special plans. Please tell me it's not standing around looking embarrassed."

Yugi laughed. "No, it's not. Come on." He took her hand and led her farther into the grove. When they were almost there, he stopped. "Close your eyes." Rebecca did so obediently, though she stuck out her tongue and warned him that this had better not be a trick. Yugi grinned and waved a hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn't cheating. Then carefully Yugi guided her into position. He looked around one last time to make sure everything was perfect, then leaned over and whispered softly in her ear. "You can open your eyes."

He watched her expression as her brilliant green eyes fluttered open. A brief instant of curiosity and confusion, and then….a wave of rapture washed over her face. "Yugi! I don't believe it! It's perfect!" She threw her arms around him and the smell of lavender and chamomile washed over him. She pecked him on the cheek, and laughed when he turned crimson.

Yugi smiled, feeling warm and slightly foolish, but happy nonetheless. "Glad you like it."

…

The waves rocked gently today, not battering Téa's body but caressing it. The boys complained that the water was boring without any rough waves to ride, but Téa thought just the opposite. She relaxed in the ocean's embrace, allowing herself to lean back and drift a little in the refreshing water. It felt good to just _be_ and not to think about anything in particular. She sighed contentedly.

The tranquil moment was abruptly burst when a blast of salty water hit her in the face. "Take that, Tristan!" Joey chuckled gleefully. He stood at the edges of the water, clutching a huge water gun.

From the expression on Téa's face, the water around her should have been frothing. "Joey Wheeler…you…you…you big idiot!" she spluttered. "Do I look like Tristan to you?"

Joey whipped the water gun behind his back. He laughed nervously. "A little bit?"

"I'M NOT TRISTAN! I'm a girl, for goodness' sake! How could you be such an imbecile?"

"Oh, believe me, hon, it's easier than you'd think. Take it from someone who knows." Mai walked up Joey, snatched the water gun and emptied onto his face. 'There. Now try to keep it down; I'm trying to sunbathe." She turned around and walked back to the beach.

Serenity laughed at her brother's dumbfounded expression. "That's just like Mai. She's so cool."

"Yeah," moaned Joey. "Lucky me."

Elsewhere on the beach, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Leon was building an elaborate sandcastle—Téa wondered if he would move on to a full-blown fairy kingdom when he was done, Bakura was reading a book, Odion and Valon were playing an intense game of one-on-one beach volleyball, and Mokuba was trying to entice Marik to go in a little deeper than his knees.

"Come on," Mokuba was saying. "It's just water. It's not going to dissolve your skin."

"Well, there's just a lot of it, okay. I think I've got enough right here."

"What are you talking about? You're barely wet. Come on, the waves are great out here."

"That's okay, really. I think maybe I'll just go see how Odion's doing."

"Oh, come on, you big baby, get in there." There was a shove, a splash, and the sound of frantic spluttering as Marik scrambled back to the shore.

"Oh." Mokuba sounded half-amused, half-embarrassed. 'Why didn't you just say you couldn't swim?"

…

"Go on, open it."

Rebecca peeked inside the picnic basket and pulled out a sandwich that could have come out a grade-schooler's lunchbox. She pulled off the plastic wrap and lifted the top piece of bread. "Tuna fish and pickles," she said, smiling slowly, "My favorite." She bit into the sandwich and closed her eyes. "Delicious," she said, swallowing. Her eyes twinkled as she leaned towards Yugi.

"Don't kiss me now, while you've got fishy breath!" Yugi dodged her with a laugh. "You know I can't stand that stuff."

"But you made the sandwich for me anyway?" Rebecca settled for kissing him on the cheek, instead. "That's so sweet." She leaned back and regarded the red and white checkered picnic blanket. "It's just like the night you proposed," she said softly.

Yugi blushed. "Well, yeah, that was kinda the idea." He leaned almost imperceptibly forward. Rebecca's fingers trembled as she smoothed back a stray lock. "Is everything all right?" Yugi asked her softly.

Rebecca nodded. It was. Right here in this moment, it was.

A quiet contentment settled over her. There was a dreamy, fairytale quality to the air this afternoon that brought back so many memories of when she and Yugi were young, in love, and so sure that everything they wanted was each other. Rebecca closed her eyes and let those old, sweet feelings wash over her again. She opened her eyes. "_Optima dies, prima fugit_," she whispered.

"What?"

She looked down. "Nothing."

Yugi gently lifted her chin. "Rebecca, you know how much I care about you, right?"

She looked up and smiled. "I know."

"Good." In a moment, Yugi had closed the distance between them. His lips pulsed against hers, warm and insistent. Rebecca leaned into his kiss, allowing herself to be pulled deeper and deeper into the passion stirring between them. Warmth flowed through her body and seeped into her soul. Could they really stay like this, so happy and contented, forever and for always? She wrapped her arms around him tightly, aching to hold on to this blissful moment. Deep down, she knew that they were gliding on time-glossed memories and emotions that could not be recalled to the present, but still she longed to lose herself so deep in this feeling that she would never find herself again.

But already the moment was fading away. Rebecca gently broke off the kiss. She stood there silently for a moment in the warmth of his embrace.

Yugi fingered one of her pigtails. "You haven't worn your hair like this in ages." She nodded. "It looks good."

She bit her lip. "Do you think it makes me look childish?"

Yugi smiled and shook his head. "Not at all."

"Not even a little bit?"

Yugi looked into her eyes. "Rebecca, when I look at you, all I see is a smart, beautiful, sophisticated woman." He gently touched her cheek.

Rebecca swallowed. If she threw her arms around him now, and told him she loved him, and that no one could ever get between them, could she make it all true? If she held on for dear life, could she keep this from slipping between her fingers?

The last vestiges of her pleasant reverie faded away as the answer came with a dull ache. _No_. This beautiful, blissful, heartbreakingly happy moment was just that, a moment. Before she knew it, it would be over, and life would resume its normal—downward—course. Maybe there would be other such moments, little islands of bliss here and there, but would there be enough of them to break up the stormy seas ahead?

Rebecca let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She looked up at Yugi and he smiled at her, looking the happiest she'd seen him all week. A lump rose in her throat and she almost reconsidered, but no, this had to be done. She swallowed. "Yugi, we need to talk."

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long lack of updates. Hopefully, they will be pretty regular from now on. Just so no one's confused, this chapter is a jump ahead to the next day. No worries, the Mokuba/Rebecca lunch will appear later.

_Optima dies, prima fugit_: The best days are the first to flee, Virgil (Latin)


	17. Unexpected Developments

A/N: This chapter jumps around a bit in the timeline. Flashback scenes are marked, all unmarked scenes are the current day. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Unexpected Developments

_Trés Amore, yesterday night:_

The restaurant was lively, full of the clatter of dishes and the chatter of patrons. The table for two in the corner where Mokuba and Rebecca sat was no exception. Mokuba proved to be a charming conversationalist and his witty banter quickly distracted Rebecca from her worries. They quickly progressed past small talk and in no time at all found themselves deep in discussion. Before their food had even arrived, Rebecca had told him all about her latest "dig", Mokuba had confided details about Kaibaland's newest attraction, and they had swapped opinions on Microsoft Vista, and found themselves in agreement of how awful it was.

"Even Office 2008 is terrible," Mokuba was saying. "All the controls are so non-intuitive."

"I know," Rebecca sympathized. "I hate Word 2008 because I can never find the stupid printer button. I always have to use the Control-P shortcut. It's annoying. Power Point does come with some nifty new backgrounds, though."

"It hardly compensates," Mokuba began, when Rebecca interrupted him.

"Here comes the food!" she squealed, spotting their waitress coming towards them with a platter of steaming dishes. She glanced at the visibly amused Mokuba. "Wipe that smirk off your face, Mokuba Kaiba."

Mokuba's grin just widened, his eyes twinkling mischievously as the waitress laid out their dishes. After she left, Mokuba leaned over and whispered conspiratorially, "How do you do it?"

Rebecca wrinkled her nose. "Do what? Spot the waitress? Perception, my dear Mokuba."

Mokuba shook his head. "No, how do you summon so much energy and stamina all the time? Isn't it exhausting?"

Rebecca laughed and shrugged. "I'm young, what can I say?"

"I'm younger," Mokuba said, suddenly seeming pensive.

Rebecca nodded slowly. It hadn't occurred to her before, but it was true that Mokuba Kaiba was a little less than a year her junior. It was odd to think about. Rebecca was used to living in a much older world, rubbing shoulders daily with people who were as above her in age as she was above them in intellect. "I guess I hadn't really thought about that. You seem so…"

"Old?"

Rebecca laughed. "I was going to say mature, but yes."

"Weight of the world, I suppose." Mokuba shrugged. "When your older brother is both your legal guardian and the CEO of a billion dollar corporation, your childhood is bound to be atypical." His tone was flippant, but Rebecca could glimpse pain in his eyes. She had a sudden urge to take his hand, but she swallowed it back and tried to lighten the mood.

"And I thought I had it rough growing up with Gramps and getting dragged along on all his digs."

"Ribbons, curls, and dry old bones, eh?" Mokuba teased.

Rebecca smiled to see the storm clouds in his eyes lighten. "Something like that," she said playfully, giving the ends of her blonde hair a bounce.

"But you still have so much passion and fire. How do you manage? I feel like an old fogey already."

"Oh, please, you're nothing of the sort." She was painfully aware of the touch of pink that sprang to her cheeks. "If you're an old fogey, then I must be an ancient crone by now. It definitely seems like I've spent at least a hundred years sitting in lecture halls. Don't let this young face fool you, I'm as much of a fossil as those dry bones professors giving conferences."

"No, you're not, but I know what you mean," Mokuba agreed, tracing the grain on the table with a finger. "Out in the world, at work, even with my brother, I feel like this grey shell is hardening around me, drying me out, closing me in, until all that's left is a hardnosed businessman." He looked up and met her eyes. "But here, with you, it's like the pieces of the shell are falling away."

"Like a butterfly bursting out of my cocoon at last," Rebecca murmured. They stared at each other, an electric connection stirring between them. "That's exactly how I feel," she said softly, half exhilarated, half terrified at this feeling sweeping over her. For so long, she had felt so isolated, so freakishly dissimilar from everyone around her. Even Yugi had not really understood. He had treated her as a child for a long time before finally conceiving of her as a woman. What he failed to realize was that she was both woman and child, girl and grown-up, all at once. She was a walking paradox; she had given up on ever being wholly understood. But now, now in this beautiful, terrible moment, from someone's lips came words that were like the cry of her own soul.

Mokuba understood, she realized, with a feeling akin to letting out a long-held breath. He understood because he too walked in both worlds. He knew what it was like to walk the razor's edge—afraid to seem childish, to not be taken seriously, but always terribly afraid that you would lose your childhood forever. A tremor went through her.

Mokuba reached out a comforting hand and Rebecca took it. Mokuba was the one person she could count on not to judge her for being childish. She smiled at him and he grinned back. A new feeling of both safety and excitement surged through her. They had walked the same road alone for such a long time. Maybe now they could walk together. Rebecca felt like she could fly. She _was_ flying, soaring through skies of euphoria on her beautiful butterfly wings.

Mokuba's expression mirrored her elation for a moment, then faded into seriousness. The boy, and now the man, Rebecca realized. "Rebecca, there's something I need to tell you," he began.

With a dull thud, Rebecca's senses fell back down to earth. She couldn't let this go on, she knew, no matter how much she wanted to. With Mokuba, for a moment she had let herself be a child, now she needed to be an adult. "I can't," she said softly, shaking her head. Already, she felt the pieces of her responsible, reliable cocoon hardening around her once more. "There's Yugi, after all."

….

There was Yugi, sitting there staring back at her with a confused and slightly hurt look on his face. Rebecca gathered herself internally. It was so much easier to be a child, selfish, heedless of consequences. Being an adult seemed nothing but an endless litany of painful decisions. You wanted this, she reminded herself firmly. Now you have to take responsibility for it.

"What do we need to talk about?" Yugi asked. He had quietly put away the food and drinks and had drawn himself up to talk to her.

Rebecca closed her eyes. How to begin…? "Yugi, I found the problem with the computer system."

"What? You did? But Rebecca, that's wonderful news!" The smile that spread wide across his face was like a nail dug into her heart. He caught her expression and his face fell. "Isn't it?" he asked. "What's wrong? Can it be fixed?"

"It can be fixed," Rebecca told him slowly.

"But then, I don't understand why—"

"Don't you want to know how I found the problem?" Rebecca's flat voice silenced him. Yugi nodded slowly. Rebecca took a deep breath. "I went out to lunch with Mokuba yesterday. We had been working on the computers all morning and we needed a break. Leon didn't want to go."

"Is that what's bothering you?" Yugi asked, relief creeping into his voice. "Don't worry over that, Rebecca; there's nothing wrong with you and Mokuba taking a lunch break together. I trust you."

Rebecca winced. "Just listen, okay?" Yugi looked a little taken aback, but nodded. "It was just supposed to be lunch. Just innocent, harmless relaxation between two friends. It wasn't supposed to turn into anything."

"I know, Rebecca," Yugi interrupted. "It's alright. I understand."

"No, you don't!" Rebecca bit back. "It wasn't supposed to turn into anything. But…" she swallowed. "But it did."

The silence that followed was more terrible than a thousand tirades. Say something, Rebecca wanted to scream. Yell, cry, throw something, if you want to. Anything would be preferable to the unbearable silence and the unreadable look in Yugi's eyes. Finally, mercifully, he found his voice, if only to echo her own words in a lost tone. "It did?"

Rebecca just nodded. "Nothing really happened," she tried to explain, aware that she was only muddling things more. "But it could have, I guess."

"It could have, but it didn't," Yugi repeated, clearly struggling to understand. "Explain what the problem is, again."

Rebecca sighed. "Maybe I should continue telling you what happened."

"I think you should," Yugi nodded. He sighed. "Didn't you start off by saying you figured out what the problem with the computers is? What does that have to do with this?"

Rebecca swallowed. "I'm getting there."

….

The afternoon sun glinted powerfully on the tossing waves and shimmered on the sand. It was sheer delight to the three girls lying out on the beach, luxuriating in its warm rays.

Mai rose off her towel and stretched her warm, toasty muscles. "Now this is what I call a beach vacation," she yawned contentedly.

Téa grinned. "Have you even been in the water once?"

"Oh, I'll get around to it," Mai assured her, readjusting her sunglasses and lying back down on her towel. Sea water, in Mai's opinion, was overrated. It was so wet and salty—terrible for the skin and murder on the hair. The sun was where it was at.

Apparently Serenity was of a different opinion. "Mai!" She dropped the bridal magazines she'd had her nose in for the past hour. "How can you possibly enjoy the beach without the ocean! It's like keeping a pair of cute shoes on your dresser and admiring them, but never wearing them. It's like rubbing coffee on your face instead of drinking it! Like smelling chocolate and never—"

"Okay, Ren, I think she gets the point," Téa interrupted with a laugh. "Seriously, Mai, there's more to life than sunbathing."

"True, but there aren't any good stores around here," Mai smugly retorted, settling back down. The delicious sun on her skin after lunch was making her positively drowsy. A little nap would be nice.

"Oh, no you don't!" Téa sprung to her feet and tugged at Mai's arm. "C'mon, beauty queen, I think you've soaked up enough sun. Time to hit the waves."

_You've gotta be kidding me_. The blonde lowered her sunglasses and looked directly into Téa's eyes. "Not on your life."

Téa just laughed. "C'mon, Serenity, help me out." The girl scrambled to her feet and grabbed Mai's other arm. Téa chanted, "One…Two…Three!" and the girls yanked Mai to her feet.

"Hey! Stop it! Not funny, you two!" Mai protested futilely. She dragged her feet as Téa and Serenity tried to pull her towards the water. They were too skinny to take her, as long as she kept resisting, even if Téa did have those dancer's muscles.

But their giggles and shrieks and Mai's shouts and struggles quickly caught the boys' attention, and they came racing across the beach to join the fun. Before Mai quite knew what was happening, Joey, Tristan, Marik, and Valon had hoisted her up and were carrying her towards the water. Mai shrieked and writhed, but they held on tight, while Téa, Serenity, and the others just laughed and shouted as they followed the procession. The boys waded out knee-deep in the water, dangling her over the waves. They swung her back and then, at the count of three, tossed her into the air. Mai shrieked and clawed at the empty air in the instant before she hit the waves with a gigantic splash, eliciting the cheers and laughter of her friends. The salty, bitter water closed over her head and filled her mouth for a horrible moment before she came up spluttering, soaking wet, with her long blonde hair sticking up at strange angles.

Still laughing, the clowns took off running down the beach. Except Joey. Joey just stood there with a goofy grin on his face. He chuckled to himself, either oblivious or unconcerned to Mai wading out of the water and heading straight for him. Mai got in his face. "You are _so_ dead," she growled, poking her finger into his chest. Joey just grinned. Punk.

…

_Trés Amore, yesterday night_

Mokuba wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. The words that had come so easily when he had practiced in the mirror now stuck in his throat. You have to say it now, he told himself. You have to let her know. He cleared his throat. "Rebecca, there's something important I have to tell you."

Rebecca turned stricken green eyes to his and shook her head softly, but desperately. She thinks I'm going to tell her I love her, Mokuba realized suddenly. But she's loyal to Yugi, and she can't let feelings for me get in the way, even if she wanted to. He felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach. _Rebecca… _He had to tell her. He had to tell her now before things got any more complicated. Before he made things any more difficult for the unsuspecting angel in front of him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Rebecca rushed in with a flood of meaningless chatter. A distraction, a filibuster, anything to keep him from saying what needed to be said. But she didn't know, couldn't possibly even suspect, what it was he had to say. If she did, she would never still be sitting here, talking to him, sharing his company. Once she knew, the easy camaraderie she had shared with him would turn to detestation and the tender feelings that teased at her sense of duty would turn to hate. She would despise him, and he had no one to blame but himself.

When Rebecca's stream of nervous prattle finally died, Mokuba said nothing to ease the awkward silence that followed. Instead, he leaned forward, fixing his eyes solemnly on Rebecca's.

His sober expression did not go unnoticed. "Mokuba, what's wrong?" Rebecca asked.

Mokuba swallowed. _How can I bear to lose her this way?_ He had never intended to let her know the truth, but looking in her eyes tonight, he had come to realize that she deserved to know what he had done. If he claimed to care about Rebecca at all, he had to tell her, no matter how difficult it might be.

"Rebecca, there's something very important I have to say. Please, no matter what, let me finish." Rebecca nodded and turned wide green eyes toward him. Mokuba took a deep breath. _Here we go_.

….

A cool breeze swept across the beach, ruffling Téa's hair. She carefully shook out her beach towel, trying not to send the sand flying into someone's eye. Satisfied, she folded the towel and placed it inside her beach bag. She turned to Serenity. "Need a hand with that umbrella?"

The girl shook her head, auburn locks flying in the breeze. "Got it covered."

Instead, Téa started helping Mai fold beach chairs. "This was such a fun time, Mai. I'm so glad you guys invited me." She glanced at the blonde, and found her mood impossible to read. Téa wondered if she was upset and adopted a conciliatory tone. "I'm sorry your vacation got messed up. I know you guys didn't get much 'couple time.'"

"That's okay." Mai sighed. "It wasn't really your fault. I was the one who invited Mokuba."

"Yeah, that's true." Téa didn't know what else to say. She looked down and kicked at the sand.

"You're really not a couple, are you?"

"Huh?" Téa's head popped up.

"You and Mokuba. I've been watching you. You're really not together, are you?"

Téa shook her head with a wry smile. "Nope. We're just friends, I'm afraid."

Mai frowned. "Then what is up with that boy? What with the two of you going out to dinner, and talking together so much, Serenity and I thought it might be that, but now, it seems it must be something else…"

"What are you talking about, Mai?"

"Mokuba. Haven't you noticed how strange he's been acting all week? He'll be quiet for long periods of time and then suddenly perk up, he has this odd expression on his face sometimes…"

"Well, I guess Mokuba can be a little strange sometimes, but he's a really great guy, and, I mean, he was practically raised by Kaiba, so you really can't blame him if his social skills are a little off."

"Téa," Mai said, with an air of exasperated patience, "I'm not talking about Mokuba's social skills. Those are fine. Charming, even."

"Oh." A quizzical frown furrowed Téa brow. "Then what are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious? The kid has it awful bad, I'd say." Mai smiled. "Mokuba's in love."


	18. Unraveling

A/N: Yeah, so I know this is late...I'm not really quite happy with this chapter but I figured I needed to stop playing with it and let you guys read it. This is a "whole episode flashback", ie, all the jumps are in chronological order, only the perspective changes.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: Unraveling

_Trés Amore, yesterday night:_

Mokuba's quiet words hung in the air with an almost palpable weight. Rebecca's breath quickened nervously and her emerald eyes searched Mokuba's face. "I don't understand," she said. "Mokuba, what's going on?"

Mokuba held up a hand to forestall her questions. "Please, Rebecca, don't interrupt." The girl leaned back in her chair and waited as the black-haired Kaiba took a deep breath and then swallowed. Finally, he spoke. "I know how to fix what's wrong with your computer system."

"You do?" Rebecca blurted out delightedly. "But that's wond—" she broke off suddenly and frowned. "Why didn't you say something to me or Leon?" Suspicion glinted in her eyes. "Mokuba, how long have you known about this?"

"Well, that's the thing, you see." Something about his tone sent trepidation tingling down Rebecca's skin. "I can fix the problem because _I am_ the problem." A gasp parted Rebecca's lips, but Mokuba ignored it. His tone was mechanical and he sounded as if he was repeating a speech learned by rote. "I hacked into the church's computer system and manipulated the mainframe to counteract your every command. I pretended to be helping you, but in reality I was undermining your efforts." The ragged breaths that punctuated his sentences belied the careful calm and control of Mokuba's voice. "I caused you countless hours of worry and hassle," he said, his voice increasingly uneven. "I tried to sabotage your wedding." He sighed and momentarily met her gaze, his grey eyes pools of unreadable emotion. "I'm sorry."

"You…hacked into the computer mainframe?" Rebecca stared at him, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "_You're_ behind all this? Is this some kind of sick joke, Mokuba? It's not funny."

"No, it's not," he agreed softly. "But it's true, every word. I'm so sorry, Rebecca. You really have no idea how sorry."

Rebecca felt as though someone had strapped her onto some diabolical roller coaster. She felt herself plummeting, her senses spun, and she felt a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach. How could this be true? Rebecca couldn't make herself look at Mokuba. She turned her head and shut her eyes, trying to think. She had trusted Mokuba, confided in him. How could he have been plotting against her all the time? Her hands shook. "How could you?" she whispered in anguish. Mokuba didn't answer right away. As Rebecca stared at her lap, trying to make sense of what he had just told her, little things that she had noticed, but overlooked, suddenly made more sense. Pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Rebecca's head snapped up. "Was Leon in on this, too?" she demanded, her voice furious.

Mokuba reluctantly nodded. "He did help me," he admitted. "Please don't blame him, Rebecca," he pleaded. "It was my plan, all of it. I talked him into it, against his better judgment."

Rebecca sank back into her chair, nauseated by the webs of deceit and betrayal that seemed to have been woven all around her. "Just tell me…" she began in a weary voice thin with bitterness and disillusionment. "Why? Why would you _do_ this to me?"

Mokuba had obviously been expecting the question. He folded his hands, took a breath, and began what sounded like a prepared speech. "I had concerns about your marriage, Rebecca. So, I threw in a few monkey wrenches to see what would happen. I wanted to make sure you weren't rushing into things."

Words could not express Rebecca's fury. "So you tried to ruin my wedding?" she spat. How dare he sit there, calm and composed, like some slimy politician, and tell her that he had masterminded the sabotage of her wedding, the most important day of her life, because he didn't trust her judgment of whether or not she was ready to get married? The sheer hubris of the plan boggled her mind. How very _Kaiba_, she thought, except that Kaiba would never have condescended to interfere in anyone's personal life (if he even knew what a personal life was). But this wasn't Kaiba, it was Mokuba. When had he become so Kaiba-like?

Mokuba was mumbling something. "Not my most brilliant idea, I admit," it sounded like he said. He was avoiding Rebecca's eyes.

"No, you think?" The sarcasm comment was as corrosive as acid. "Look, _kid_, you have just succeeded in seriously ticking off a bride-to-be. Unless you've got a death wish, you'd better have something a lot better than 'I wanted to make sure you weren't rushing into things.'"

"'Bride-to-be?" Mokuba sounded startled. "You mean you're still going through with the wedding?"

Rebecca stared at him through narrowed eyes. "_Yes_." She drew the word out distinctly, like a teacher repeating a phrase to a particularly ignorant student.

"But after everything…I thought…"

"Yes, Yugi and I had some setbacks. But we're _adults_, Mokuba; we dealt with the issues." That wasn't really true, but Mokuba didn't have to know that. "We're engaged, _of course_ we're getting married."

"But you can't!"

Rebecca's eyes widened in shock at the sudden outburst. Mokuba had blurted it out with such vehemence, but now he seemed ashamed of himself. Rebecca watched him, completely unsure of what to think, as he looked down, muttering inaudibly to himself. Finally, he sighed and looked up meeting Rebecca's eyes. He looked older, wearier, and more solemn than Rebecca could recall ever seeing him, yet deep in his eyes, almost buried beneath a weight of solemn cars, there was that familiar light, that mischievous twinkle.

"The truth is," he said softly, "that I couldn't bear the thought of watching you marry Yugi." Rebecca's breath caught. Mokuba leaned forward, shaking his head softly. "This is so terrible; don't think I don't know that. But the reason you can't marry Yugi, Rebecca, is….well…." He swallowed. "It's because I'm in love with you."

Rebecca stared at him, too stunned for words. Her silence didn't matter, as Mokuba kept talking, nervously playing with his dinner napkin as he spoke.

"I've been in love with you for years, I don't know exactly how long. Maybe since the first time we met, at Kaibaland, all those years ago. Remember that?" A ghost of a grin light his face for an instant, then disappeared as he continued. "But you only had eyes for Yugi. Even though I thought he didn't like you like that, you were obsessed with him. And I…well… He was the King of Games. Even _Seto_ respected him. How was I supposed to compete with that?" Mokuba looked down. "I couldn't. So I just never let you know how I felt about you. How I loved you." He shook his head. "When I found out you and Yugi were getting married, it felt like I'd been run over by a cement mixer. It hurt so badly and I felt like such a fool for never having told you the truth. I couldn't stand the thought that you'd never even know, that I had missed my chance forever.

"So, I made my plan. Borrowed a little Kaiba Corp tech, badgered Leon into helping me…it was easy. Childishly easy. Childishly stupid. Somehow, I guess I thought that if I made it a little difficult for you, if you just had a chance to consider you'd change your mind. " He looked down. "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I truly can't tell you how sorry I am. I know now what I did to you was wrong and stupid and cruel and…there just aren't words to convey how sorry I am, but…"

"Shut up." Rebecca felt moisture on her cheek and suddenly realized she was crying. She turned away and hastily wiped her eyes on a napkin. "Just shut up."

"I'll fix everything," Mokuba assured her. His voice was nervous and pleading and Rebecca realized just how shaken he was. "You won't have another problem, I swear. I'll call the florist, caterer, everyone and fix everything. If they won't reschedule for you, I'll pay whatever they want. If you want to marry Yugi, that's what you do. You can get married tomorrow if you want. Or whenever. Just say the word."

_Shut up. Please, just stop talking_. Rebecca swallowed. "I think you should go," she told him, her voice tightly controlled.

"I can't abandon you here," Mokuba protested.

_You can ruin my wedding but you can't leave me in a public place?_ Rebecca wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream or cry. She knew she couldn't do either. "Just go." She looked away, biting her lip to hold back the tears.

Left with no other options, Mokuba quietly got up and asked for the check at the front desk. After he paid, he returned to the table and quietly offered to drive Rebecca home. She refused to look at him. "Let me at least call a cab for you," he said. No response. With a dejected sigh, he took out his wallet and put down a fifty for the waitress, and then laid another in front of Rebecca. "Do you know the number of the cab company?" he asked. She didn't respond. "You probably do. This is your neck of the woods, after all." He turned, and then paused. "I just want to say that I completely understand your being angry with me, Rebecca, and I don't blame you. I couldn't fathom that you'd feel otherwise. Thank you for listening to me." He glanced back at Rebecca a final time and caught a glimpse of tear-stained green eyes that quickly ducked away. Mokuba swallowed, straightened, and slowly walked out of the restaurant.

From the cover of her long blonde bangs, Rebecca watched Mokuba walk out the door. She blinked back tears. _I won't cry_, she promised herself fiercely. She was a strong, independent woman who took care of her problems instead of crying about them. She was also a terrible liar. Rebecca grabbed a napkin off the table and swiped at the wet trails running down her face. Some the other patrons were beginning to stare at her, rampant curiosity under thin polite veneers. Rebecca cringed under the attention, feeling like a child caught in a temper tantrum. She bit her lip, despising herself for crying in public and detesting herself for not knowing why she was crying.

Her wedding had been purposefully sabotaged. Surely a bride was allowed to cry about that, even in a public restaurant. But was that really why she was so upset? Of course it was. A strange feeling of loss nagged at her; the look in Mokuba's eyes as he quietly walked away haunted her. Mokuba had said he loved her. _Loved_ her. But, no that was impossible. If he really loved her, he couldn't have done those things to her. Right?

"Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît pas," Rebecca whispered. _The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing_. Then she shook her head.

Everything had gotten so confused these last few days. A week ago, her future seemed as clear and certain as if its course had been marked out on a blueprint. But now, every day seemed to chip away at what had seemed so solid and secure, until reality lay in pieces on the floor, like the shards of an Etruscan vase, waiting to be pieced together by a careful archeologist. She was the archeologist, she knew, but if she tried to piece together this vase, it seemed it would transform into a New Kingdom tomb relief under her fingers. What had happened to her? Was it possible that she, Rebecca Hawkins, no longer knew what she wanted?

Rebecca stared dully at the money Mokuba had left on the table. Everything else might be muddled, but one thing was perfectly clear: There was no way Rebecca was touching a cent of Mokuba's money. She toyed with the idea of leaving it for the waitress, but then Mokuba wouldn't know she hadn't taken it, and her pride wouldn't allow him to think that she had. Besides, the waitress wasn't _that_ good. She'd have to return the money to Mokuba. She fished in her purse and found an old envelope and a pen. Rebecca scrawled _Mokuba_ on the envelope, stuck the offending bill inside, and stuffed it inside her purse. With that settled, Rebecca turned to the matter of how she was going to get home.

Rebecca mulled over the possibilities, scowling in thought. She could call a cab, but they were expensive and money was tight. Weddings weren't cheap. Besides, the idea of tamely following Mokuba's directions grated on Rebecca, not to mention that getting him to take back his little donation would be nigh impossible if she caved to his suggestion. No taxi for her. She discarded the idea and contemplated other prospects. She could call someone…Yugi, she supposed. Rebecca dug in her purse for her cell phone. She turned it over in her hands, deliberating. Her throat felt tight. She knew she should ask Yugi to come pick her up, but Rebecca felt physically incapable of explaining the situation to him at the moment. She would have to eventually, she knew that, but she needed to process it on her own first. She flipped open the phone and brought up her address book. She scrolled through it, considering each name. Most she dismissed at first glance, but a few she lingered over for a few moments before continuing down. She needed someone who wouldn't ask awkward questions she couldn't answer. Her eyes froze on a name. _Leon_. Rebecca narrowed her eyes. She was going to have to confront him about this mess sooner or later anyway. Might as well make it sooner. At least she wouldn't owe him any explanations. She hit the call button.

…

Leon's fingers flew over the keyboard, not missing a single keystroke. He was almost done restoring the system to the way it had been before Mokuba wrecked havoc upon it. Leon wasn't sure from the look Mokuba had given him as he walked out the door whether Mokuba would thank him or kill him for his efforts, but it had to be done. Mokuba had been given the delay he had wanted. Rebecca was determined to go through with the wedding and Mokuba needed to accept that. Leon felt sorry for his friend, but life didn't always turn out the way you wanted. Some would have said that life was not a fairytale, but Leon knew that wasn't the problem. People liked to think of fairytales as nice, happy stories for children, but they forgot that, before Disney sanitized them, fairytales could be dark, disturbing, and tragic. The Little Mermaid didn't get her prince. The Gingerbread Man got eaten by a fox. Life didn't always end in happily ever after.

A low buzzing interrupted Leon's thoughts. He grabbed his phone off the desk and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Leon? It's Rebecca." _Rebecca?_ Why was she calling? "I need you to come pick me up. I'm at the Trés Amore restaurant off of Florence Street. Come as soon as you can."

"What?" Leon's head spun with confusion. "But I thought you were with Mokuba. What's going on? Are you okay?"

Rebecca's tone was cold and clipped. "I'll explain when you arrive. Are you coming?"

"I'm not that familiar with this area," Leon started to protest.

"Mapquest it, then." A tiny electronic beep told him Rebecca had hung up.

Leon put the phone down, feeling very disoriented. Slowly, he turned to the computer and got onto to the Mapquest site. What had Rebecca said the place was called? He frowned as he filled in what he knew. It must have been right, because the computer quickly pinpointed a location. Leon printed out the directions and looked at them. Straightforward enough, or so he hoped. According to the directions, the restaurant was a little over twenty minutes away. He'd better get going.

Leon grabbed his keys, shrugged on his jacket, and headed out the door. _Mokuba_, he thought, shaking his head, _what have you gotten yourself into this time?_

The restaurant wasn't difficult to find. Within the half-hour, Leon had pulled up to the little brick building. He had barely stepped inside the door when Rebecca walked up to him, carrying herself stiffly. Her jaw was set. "Let's go," she said. No 'thank you for coming' or any indication that he was doing her a favor, just a brusque command.

Leon frowned as he followed Rebecca to the car. Just what had happened here? Rebecca's eyes were dry, but tinged with red and her mascara was obviously smudged. Rebecca had been crying. Was this icy demeanor just a brave front for a deep hurt? Leon's heart suddenly beat fast. _He didn't…_

Leon didn't voice his suspicions, but instead moved quickly to open the doors and help her into the car. But he couldn't help glancing furtively at Rebecca and trying to gauge any emotion on her closed face. Finally, when the car was on its way, Rebecca caved. "I suppose you're wondering what's going on."

"It crossed my mind a few times," Leon agreed. He frowned. "What I'm really wondering is where Mokuba is? Did he leave you here all alone?"

A scowl quickly darkened her features. "I'm not a child," she snapped. "I can fend for myself. Don't think of me as some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued." Leon had never seen Rebecca act this way. Her voice was sharp and bitter, like a growl of a wounded animal.

He paused to let her cool off before softly saying, "I guess Mokuba didn't turn out to be much of a knight in shining armor, did he?"

He braced himself for another outburst, but was caught off guard when she broke down into sobs. Oh boy. How exactly did one comfort a weeping woman anyway? Leon's first impulse was to hug her, but on second thought, the gesture would not be appreciated by either Rebecca or the other drivers on the road. He decided to concentrate on driving and looked straight ahead at the road, awkwardly ignoring the tears dribbling down Rebecca's face.

When the sobbing seemed to have died down a little, Leon decided it was safe to glance at his passenger. Rebecca's eyes were red and moist, underscored by dark smudges of mascara, but she had stopped crying. Now was the time to say something. Leon took a deep breath for courage. If he was wrong about what had happened and spilled the beans, Mokuba would be furious—not to mention what Rebecca would do. But Leon didn't think he was wrong. "I suppose Mokuba told you about the computers," he said quietly.

Rebecca nodded. "He told me"—her voice was strained and pitchy with emotion—"he told me that he hacked the system to sabotage the wedding. With your help," she added, an edge to her voice.

Leon flinched. "That's true," he admitted. "I did help Mokuba hack the computers."

"_And_ help me not wise up to your little scheme," Rebecca accused. It sounded like she had figured that out on her own, not heard it from Mokuba. It made sense; she'd probably spent the last twenty minutes going over every detail of her interactions with the computers.

Leon nodded. "That too, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Rebecca."

Her nostrils flared. "'Sorry' again. You think that lame little 'sorry' is going to make it all better?" Her voice was hard, but with an audible undercurrent of pain. Leon's stomach twisted uncomfortably with guilt. "You were my friends," Rebecca said, her voice quiet, but intense. "I gave you my trust and you used it to stab me in the back."

Leon didn't fight the accusation, knowing what Rebecca needed most was to let her feelings vent. He waited a moment and then spoke. "Rebecca, did Mokuba tell you why he did what he did?"

"He did." There was a measured pause before she continued. "He said…that he was in love with me." She didn't look at Leon when she said that.

Leon had to keep her talking, help her sort through everything instead of just stewing. "Well…what do you think about that?" Inane, but it was all Leon could think of to say.

"What do I think about that?" Rebecca repeated, not keeping the scorn out of her voice. "I think that's crap." Leon was taken aback. But Rebecca wasn't done. "How can you claim to do terrible things to a person in the name of love? Mokuba hurt me, he betrayed me. I care far more about that than some mushy feelings he might have inside."

Leon nodded quietly. Rebecca was making sense—far more sense than Mokuba had, actually. He decided to mention this. "I told Mokuba it was a brainless plan from the beginning," he said.

"Then why did you go along with it?" Rebecca snapped.

Leon was getting used to her outbursts and wasn't rattled. "I tried to argue with him, but he was so determined, so desperate. Logic just didn't work against him."

"Like a crazy person," Rebecca muttered.

Leon smiled. "Like a man in love." Rebecca didn't look impressed. "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît pas," he quoted. To his surprise, he thought he saw a flush rise on Rebecca's cheeks.

Leon continued. "He was determined, Rebecca. He was desperate. He knew you might hate him for what he was going to do, but he was willing to risk it all in a wild gamble. For you. Eventually, I was so swept away by his passion that I agreed to help him."

Rebecca was clearly still angry, but a pensive look had come into her eyes. "Desperate? Why desperate?"

"He felt like you were slipping away and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He'd missed his chance, but he wasn't willing to let you go without a fight."

"Missed his chance is right," Rebecca said with a mild tone of disgust. "Why didn't he just say something? Why all the dramatics?"

"I believe his words were 'I need to stop her in her tracks or she'll blow by so fast she'll never see me.' You were caught up in planning the wedding, in being the perfect bride. You would never have listened, would you?"

"Well, no, maybe not this week," Rebecca admitted, "but surely he could have told me earlier. A month ago, even, the right words could have changed everything, but this? What does he expect me to do, just fall into his arms?"

Leon was struck by what Rebecca had said. 'Would they have really?"

Caught off-guard, Rebecca turned to look at him. "What?"

"If Mokuba had come to speak to you a month ago, would it really have made a difference? Would you have returned his feelings?"

Rebecca looked down, cheeks reddening. "Oh, I don't—that is…" she stuttered before trailing off, clearly ill at ease.

"Never mind," Leon said quickly. "On second thought, I'm not the one you should be having this conversation with." He looked at Rebecca. "But you should really talk to Mokuba."


	19. Broken

A/N: So, so, sorry about the long delay. I took a lot of time with this chapter, because I wanted to keep everyone in character and acting realistically, and then Christmas hit, and I didn't have time to write for a while. From now on, updates should be fairly regular. Hope you enjoy

Chapter Nineteen: Broken

The beautiful afternoon was quickly fading into an exquisite evening. The sun hung just over the horizon, the clouds already blushing pink, with fiery hints of orange. The light gave a dreamy, sunkissed look to the little valley, as a gentle breeze stirred the grasses. In the silence, the crickets could be heard just beginning to chirp.

Rebecca let her gaze fall from the scenery. While she had explained the true source of the computer problems, she had carefully avoided meeting Yugi's gaze. Now that she'd dropped the bomb, she glanced at him, quietly gauging his reaction.

Yugi didn't seem to be able to take it in. "_Mokuba_ was the one responsible for the computer problems?" he kept repeating in disbelief.

"That's correct," she said softly.

"I don't believe it," Yugi said, shaking his head, his tone seeped in disappointment. "It's just not possible. Not from Mokuba. …I just don't believe it."

_And this is the brilliant mind that took down all the best duelists in the world?_ Rebecca snarked to herself. The thought was unworthy: Yugi didn't know the first thing about computers and, unlike Rebecca, hadn't had the opportunities to see the clues, let alone piece them together. He hadn't spent the night tossing and turning, trying to take it in, or the better part of the day contemplating where to go from here. His shock was legitimate, and he had a right to it. If he expressed it by restating his disbelief over and over, it was because he was too much of a nice guy to let loose a string of curses. But still. It grated the nerves.

She bit her lip, realizing that Yugi had stopped disbelieving her news and started considering it. His eyes were fixed on her, shock, confusion, and hurt almost visible in his intensely purple stare. But as Rebecca met his gaze, his eyes quickly filled with a shrewdness Rebecca remembered all too well from duels past. Then he asked the question she'd been dreading. "Why'd he do it, Rebecca?"

She'd been expecting the question, but she still had to fight off the momentary panic that rushed over her and froze her. She took a deep breath to steady herself, but there was still a slight tremble to her voice when she spoke. "I asked him that. Mokuba said," she paused, but there was nothing to do but to come out and say it, "that he's in love with me." As she said the words, she could help but see Mokuba's face, his solemn grey eyes, the desperation in his voice. An unconscious blush stole over her features as she looked down, unable to meet Yugi's eyes.

"_What?_" Whatever Yugi had been expecting, it was not that. For a long, silent, unbearable moment moment, Yugi just stared at her. Slowly, his eyes narrowed and his mouth hardened into a grim line. _Game face, _Rebecca thought. But she wasn't springing a trap card on him; she was just trying to talk to him.

There were really only two things to do when the King of Games stared you down like he was about to pull the card that would spell the doom of your unbeatable combo. You could muster up your own battle glare, or you could babble like an idiot. Rebecca babbled.

"Mokuba had this idea that we're so obviously wrong for each other that all he had to do was stir up the waters a little, y'know, by wrecking the computer system and sabotaging the wedding, and we'd break up, and I'd suddenly realize that I was actually in love with him." Rebecca couldn't help but smile. It was actually funny in a way, when you thought of it.

Apparently, Yugi didn't see the humor. A deep scowl settled over his features. It didn't suit him.

Immediately, Rebecca was on the defensive. "What, you don't think I encouraged him?"

"Did you?" The mildness of his voice only infuriated Rebecca more.

"_What?"_ The word was a snarl. "I can't believe you, Yugi."

"It's a fair question," Yugi said, voice growing sharper.

Rebecca snapped. "You don't trust me," she spat.

Rebecca flinched as soon as the words left her mouth. They stung like a slap to sunburned skin, except the skin was deep inside, where no aloe vera could soothe it. The words stung because she was right; he didn't trust her. They stung because he was right; she didn't deserve his trust. Rebecca's eyes felt wet, but she blinked away the tears, too angry to cry.

Yugi said nothing, his gaze unwavering. Rebecca glowered at him. "I can't _believe_ you're blaming _me_ for this. If a guy gets ideas, it must automatically be because the woman was egging him on, is that it? Is that what you're trying to say?"

A million moments flashed through her head. The long hours he'd worked beside her. The jokes and laughter they'd shared. The way she'd automatically assumed he'd help before he volunteered. The way she'd looked up to see Mokuba's eyes on her and, instead of looking away, flashed him a sly grin. The way she'd leaned into a little too much into their conversations and let a casual touch linger just a moment too long.

She'd flirted with him. It hit her with an icy shock, like a snowball to the face. Mokuba had flirted with her and she'd flirted back. And she'd enjoyed it.

"After your disgusting behavior with Téa the other night, where do you get the audacity to suggest that I'm the one carrying on behind your back?"

She refused to back down. She refused to admit she was wrong, so she channeled her pain and inner conflict into attack, not caring for the moment what she was tearing down.

"Just because I'm a beautiful woman doesn't mean I'm out to seduce every guy in the vicinity." Yugi didn't bat an eye. "Yes, I am a beautiful woman, in case you didn't notice," Rebecca lashed out, the words dripping with sarcasm. Then, to rub salt in the wound, the excruciatingly perfect finale: "Mokuba did."

Yugi said nothing, seemingly in thought. Rebecca bit her lip, her mouth filling a bitter taste. She swallowed. "When did you get so cold, Yugi?" After all the angry, venomous words she'd thrown at him, these last were quiet and subdued, subtly tinged with desperation. Yet somehow, it was these words that got Yugi's attention. His eyes flickered to hers, finally shaken from their meditative stare. But now it was to herself rather than to Yugi that Rebecca was talking to. "What happened to the sweet and charming boy I fell in love with?" she whispered.

"I grew up, Rebecca," he said, his voice low.

Rebecca's eyes snapped to his face and the venom returned. "Yeah, into the freakin' Pharaoh."

As soon as the words, left her lips, Rebecca gasped and wanted to pull them back, but it was too late.

For an instant, a fire of fury raged across Yugi face, but it died slowly into an expression of sheer pain. Rebecca knew she had driven a knife into an old and tender wound, but there was nothing she could do to undo the damage. She fumbled desperately for words. "Yugi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"So I'm not like him?" The words were bland, but Rebecca immediately realized she'd stumbled into a trap worse than the first.

"That's not what I meant either," she said softly.

Yugi shook his head. "Forget it." He didn't meet Rebecca's eyes.

But Rebecca couldn't forget. They had crossed a Rubicon of sorts and Rebecca knew things would never be the same.

She looked at the ground. She knew what she needed to say, but the words stuck in her throat. Rebecca took a deep breath and slowly lifted her head. "This isn't going to work."

"What?" Yugi's head swung up and he stared at her. "Rebecca, what are you saying?"

Rebecca sighed. "I think we both know, Yugi." She kicked at the dirt. This was hard. "This relationship isn't working. We're just not cut out for each other are we?"

Yugi stared at her as if not comprehending. "Are we…breaking up?"

Rebecca bit her lip, then nodded decisively. "I'm breaking off the engagement, Yugi. I can't go through with this." She slid her diamond ring off her finger and held it out to Yugi. "It's over, Yugi. I'm done."

…

"Are you sure?"

As this was the tenth time that Serenity had asked the question, Téa's tolerant smile was wearing a little thin as she assured her friend that yes, she was.

The girls, Serenity in particular, had been trying to persuade her to join them for dinner for the past half hour. Téa had rebuffed all their attempts, but Serenity was relentless in her efforts.

"But it'll be so much fun, Téa. You're only in town for a few more days, and then we won't see you until who knows when."

"The wedding," Téa said absently. "You will invite me, of course?"

"Of course, but Téa, that's not going to be until I graduate." Serenity rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do all night, sit in an empty hotel room and watch bad cable shows?"

"That sounds nice," Téa murmured with a vague smile. "A hot bath and a relaxing evening sound just right after a long day at the beach, I'm afraid." She yawned luxuriously. "I'm about ready to call it a night."

"Oh, we're going to wash up, believe me," said Mai, flicking a wet strand of hair out of her face in annoyance. "I'm not going anywhere until I get a chance to scrub this skin-wrecking, hair-destroying salt and sand off. We can drop you off at the hotel to freshen up, then pick you up on our way out."

"Besides," Serenity added, "it's just a dinner with some friends. It's not like we're asking you to run a marathon or something. It'll be relaxing."

Téa snorted. "I love you guys, but a dinner with Joey and Tristan is _not_ relaxing." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her hair and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, girls, but I definitely have an appointment with a two-hour bubble bath and a chic flick tonight."

Mai mumbled something under her breath. Téa couldn't be positive, but she had the distinct impression that Mai—_Mai!_—had called her vain.

Resisting the urge to remind Miss Material Girl exactly who was it who had required the "assistance" of several strong young men to get into the water, Téa simply grinned. "I only thought that maybe you guys might prefer to have some time to _yourselves_," she suggested slyly. "Y'know, since the beach was so crowded." She winked.

Téa watched Mai's face in the rearview mirror. Her pursed lips relaxed and her miffed look melted into a pensive expression. Téa smiled to herself. Just as she had known she would, Mai prompted by the reminder of their previous discussion, took Téa's refusal as an apologetic gesture for how the beach turned out. She didn't make any more attempts to convince her to come along.

Téa wasn't quite as lucky with Serenity, who wasn't as quick on the uptake. It took Mai's considerably less subtle hinting for her to get the message, immediately followed by an embarrassed silence and deep crimson blush. Really, that girl blushed at the slightest provocation, Téa thought. It was a good thing blushing looked good on her, complimenting her complexion and bringing out the red in her hair.

Unfortunately, Serenity's embarrassment had only been temporary, so Téa had to fend off several more attempts to wrangle her into coming with, before Serenity finally accepted that she wasn't going to come. Téa tried to put a smile on it all, but the repeated requests were beginning to grate. She had forgotten what busybodies friends could be. Always interfering, trying to manage each other's lives….it was somehow endearing, yet aggravating at the same time. Téa bit her lip. When she'd left Domino behind after high school, she'd left the messy, managing, tangled-up, complicated kind of friendship with it. She had friends in NYC, but they were the go-to-parties-and-send-you-birthday-cards kind of friends, not the play-card-games-to-save-your-soul-and-relentlessly-try-to-hook-you-up-behind-your-back kind. New York City seemed to have a terrible shortage of well-intended busybodies. A fond smile curved Téa's lips. Once upon a time, she'd been the worst offender, hadn't she?

Serenity noticed the smile. "Change your mind?" she asked hopefully.

Her smile instantly twisted into an irritated scowl. "For pete's sake, Serenity, _no!_"


	20. Over

Chapter Twenty: Over

The dying beams of the setting sun glinted off the diamond ring, scattering orange rainbows across Rebecca's palm. Yugi stared it at sickly, the sound of his own heartbeat pounding a staccato drumbeat in his ears.

"Rebecca," he breathed, finally, "Rebecca, wait, let's talk about this. I…I…"

Rebecca's hard green eyes softened a little. Her hand closed around the ring, but she didn't put it back on. "Okay," she said softly, "Let's talk." She sat down on the blanket and looked Yugi in the eye. "Yugi…what reason do we have to stay together?"

Yugi was silent for a moment. "I thought…I thought we loved each other."

Rebecca looked down. "I thought so too, once. But now…" she shook her head.

Yugi swallowed. "Oh." There was a pause. "It's Mokuba, isn't it." It wasn't a question.

"It's not Mokuba!" Rebecca shouted instantly, and then calmed down. "It's not Mokuba," she repeated more quietly, "It's…it's everything." She looked away, strangely fascinated by a nearby grove of pine trees. She cleared her throat. "I'm not cheating on you with Mokuba, or anything like that; I just want to make that clear. I think what Mokuba did was terrible—but maybe it was necessary." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "What Mokuba did…it worked. It shook us up, Yugi. Our relationship was measured and sifted and found wanting." She opened her eyes and looked at him squarely. "Deep down, we both know that this isn't going to work. We don't care enough to make it work. What Mokuba did, wrong, misguided, and childish as it was, was an expression of how deeply he cares about me. He put everything on the line because he didn't want to go through life knowing that I was with someone else."

"Mokuba wrecks your wedding, I plan a picnic, and you choose Mokuba?" Yugi couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice.

"You don't love me, Yugi." Rebecca hadn't intended the words to be so accusatory, but they were. She plowed on ahead anyway. "Don't deny it, please don't. I see it in your eyes; I feel in your touch, I taste it in your kisses. You don't care anymore, Yugi."

"We're on a date!" Yugi burst out. "A date that I planned! How can you say I don't care about you, Rebecca? What more do you want?"

"Everything!" she shouted. "I want everything and to be everything to someone else. I'm so sick and tired of knowing that my fiancé would rather make googly-eyes at Téa than spend time with me."

"That's not fair," Yugi said. "I'm here, Rebecca. I'm with you."

"Your body is. But where is your heart?" Rebecca sighed. "Yugi, can you honestly tell me that you don't have any feelings for Téa?"

Yugi was quiet for a moment. "I'll admit to…lingering emotions. But I don't act on them, Beck. I'm committed to you."

Rebecca stared at him. He didn't get it. Did she have to hit him over the head with it? She didn't want to break his heart. She wanted to "let him down easy" if she could. If only he wouldn't be so obtuse.

"Yugi, listen to me," Rebecca leaned forward, willing him to understand. "Commitment is good, it's a good thing, but…but stop making me into some kind of prison warden. Don't you get it?" She closed her eyes. "I want to be the love of someone's life, the girl of their dreams, not the ball and chain around their leg. Yugi, you go through the motions of a devoted fiancé, but deep down, you know as well as I do, the emotion isn't real anymore."

Rebecca touched his arm gently. "The only part of you I have anymore is what's on the surface. Just the merest shell of the man I fell in love with. Everything else belongs to someone else." There was a quiver in her voice, but she shook her head. "Don't marry me out of duty, Yugi. Life's too short and marriage too long to do a stupid thing like that. If you're honest with yourself, you know you can't give me your whole heart, and I won't settle for anything else. Call me crazy, but I don't want to marry someone who's in love with someone else." She looked down for a moment, then met his eyes again. "And I don't want you to be that person either. We both deserve better than that."

Yugi stared at her for a moment. "I…I don't know what to say…" he mumbled finally. "I guess, I should say, thank you, Rebecca." Then he bowed his head. "And I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She tried to smile. "We were good together for a while. It just wasn't right in the end. It's like that Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem."

"What?" Despite the melancholy circumstances, Yugi managed an almost authentic smile. Through all his years of dating Rebecca, he'd still never gotten used to her penchant for dropping obscure references and quotations into her conversation. Price of dating a genius, he supposed.

"'If thou must love me, let it be for naught, except for Love's sake only,'" Rebecca quoted. "'Do not say "I love her for her smile—her look—her way of speaking gently—for a trick of thought that falls in well with mine…For these things in themselves, Beloved, may be changed, or change for thee, and love, so wrought, may be unwrought so.' That's what happened to us. We changed, Yugi. We grew up and we just didn't fit anymore."

"Are you saying we fell in love for the wrong reasons?" Yugi asked, half-playful, half-serious.

"Maybe." Rebecca wrinkled her nose. "Sometimes it's hard to remember why I fell for you in the first place, y'know. For starters, you're too old for me."

"What?" This was a new one for Yugi. "It's only five years. You've never said anything about that before."

Rebecca grinned playfully, but when she explained, her voice was serious. "Once you finally grew a couple inches, and your voice took on that husky tone, in other words, when you finally hit puberty—in your twenties—I guess it hit me that you weren't actually a little kid who happened to have an early birthday." She smiled wistfully. "Maybe that's when I had the first inkling that I couldn't keep you."

Yugi wanted to reach out and squeeze her hand, but the look in her eyes told him that was not a good idea. He swallowed. "For me, it was the opposite. I'd always thought of you as a little kid, but that summer in Egypt changed all that. For the first time, I looked at you and a saw a woman. I saw you, all grown up, and I thought 'I could love her.'"

Rebecca laid a hand very gently on his shoulder. "It was a good time, Yugi, but it's over now."

"I understand," Yugi said softly. "I wish you the best, Rebecca." He tried to make his tone light as he said, "Mokuba's a very lucky guy, even if I don't understand why you're attracted to wedding wreckers."

"Thank you." The sincerity in her green eyes melted into sarcasm as she responded to the rest of what he'd said. "As for Mokuba, I think he's going to be a very dead guy." She smiled wryly. "And then…well, I don't really know." She looked down. "Don't think I've forgiven him for the computers so easily. Mokuba and I…well, we've got some issues to sort out."

"Sounds painful," Yugi deadpanned, hoping the humor would clear some of the tension in the air.

Rebecca's laugh was a little brittle. "Anyway," she said, deflecting the conversation from herself, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Yugi said with a shrug. Now that he and Rebecca had broken up, there didn't seem to be much point in lambasting Mokuba over the computers. It would be better to leave all the _sorting out issues_ to Rebecca.

Rebecca gave him the disgusted look Yugi associated with missed birthdays and anniversaries. "_Téa_," she said.

Yugi didn't meet her eyes, but a slight flush rose to his cheeks. Rebecca bit her lip as an unexpected rush of jealousy swept through her. She knew he had feelings for Téa. He had admitted as much. Rebecca told herself she didn't care. It was fine if he was in love with Téa, better even. That way she wouldn't need to feel so bad about calling things off because of Mokuba. But she couldn't quite escape the feeling that those blue eyes had stolen away her man, even though she quite well that Yugi wasn't "her man" anymore. She sighed. What had made her think that just talking over things would instantly change feelings honed over years? It would take her a while to get over that possession twinge towards Yugi or her jealousy towards Téa. Old habits die hard.

Yugi heard the sigh, but not the thoughts that led to it, and heard it as the "And you're supposed to be the King of Games?" sigh that Rebecca used when she thought he was being particularly dense. He frowned. "I don't think it's as simple as you think." Rebecca looked a little startled, so Yugi hurried to explain. "I do have feelings for Téa, but, well there's a lot of water under the bridge. We can't just pick up where we left off. Besides, I don't know if she even wants a relationship with me. It's not like she's just been dangling by, waiting for us to break up."

"You'd be surprised," Rebecca muttered, surprising Yugi with the bitter tinge in her voice. As if sensing his discomfort, she shifted and sighed. "Trust me, Yugi, she's interested. This is woman's intuition talking."

"And it doesn't bother you?" Yugi asked. This whole conversation was so surreal. This whole not-being-engaged-to-Rebecca thing was going to take some getting used to.

"What, Téa?" Rebecca scoffed, turning away from him. "Does me and Mokuba bother you?" Her tone was teasing, but the question was serious. It deserved a serious answer.

Yugi studied her for a moment. "A little," he admitted honestly, eyes a little sheepish.

Rebecca turned to look at him, startled. Then she nodded, a wistful look sneaking over her face. "Me too." She shrugged. "But that's life for you. Nothing's ever perfect." She swallowed and opened her hand, holding out the diamond ring. "I think this belongs to you," she said.

"Oh, yeah," Yugi said awkwardly, taking it from her and stuffing in into the pocket of his pants. What was he supposed to do with it now? A thought teased in the back of his mind…_Téa_…but even if someday…she wouldn't want Rebecca's ring; he was sure of that.

There was an awkward silence. Finally, Rebecca got to her feet. "It's dark," she said, looking up at the sky. "A little late for a picnic, don't you think?"

Yugi nodded. He got to his feet and started cleaning up the picnic stuff. "The others will be back soon," he reflected.

Rebecca looked pained. "We don't have to tell anyone tonight, do we?"

Yugi thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It's late. We might as well make the announcement tomorrow."

They packed away the last of the stuff in silence. Yugi picked up the basket, looked at Rebecca, and shrugged. "Shall we?"

….

Serenity was stubborn and Téa had to fend off two more invitations before the drive was over. Téa was relieved when the convertible reached the hotel and she could say her goodbyes. Running through the hotel lounge in her sandy beach clothes, Téa earned more than one snotty look, but she didn't care.

Once in her room, Téa wasted no time in stripping off her sandy swimsuit and sundress and getting into the tub. She soaked for nearly an hour, letting the warm water caress away every speck of sand and salt from her skin, before she finally got out, wrapping a towel around her body.

Now that she was finally clean, Téa realized she was hungry. She found the coffeemaker and put the pot on. Eventually, she'd want something more substantial, but if she ordered room service, she'd have to get dressed before it arrived. Right now, Téa just wanted to relax.

Téa brushed her hair—she couldn't let it dry all snarled and wild, put on a robe, and poured herself a cup of coffee. Then she sat down in one of the armchairs by the window. She set her coffee down on the nearby table and noticed the newspaper she'd never opened that morning. She flipped through it. The headlines were all local news that didn't much interest her, so she picked out the Style section, her favorite since she was a kid. When she was ten, she had loved the comics in the back. Now, she had another favorite. She opened the Style section and flipped through the pages until she found the section. With a satisfied smile, Téa took a sip of coffee and began to read.

_Dear Carolyn…_


	21. Communication

A/N: I've really appreciated all the reviews and encouragement. I'm kinda amazed so many people are still following the story, after all the long pauses and so forth. Thanks for reading!

Italicized portions are the property of Carolyn Hax and The Washington Post.

Chapter Twenty-One: Communication

This was really the perfect way to relax after a day at the beach, Téa decided: a long bath, a quiet room, a cup of coffee, and her favorite advice column. Oh, the advice columns. Since she had first been tempted away from the antics of Dagwood and Blondie into the gossipy drama of advice columns, she had come to have distinct preferences among the various writers who made their living sorting out other people's messes.

The famous Dear Abby was reliable enough, but she was so stolid and conventional, like an old aunt who always knew best. Plus, she had an annoying habit of letting readers use the entire column as a soapbox for the pet cause.

Margo, to put it bluntly, was a hack. She was good enough at acidly rebuking the clueless letter-sender when the answer was screamingly obvious, but anything that required subtlety she just screwed up. Honestly, if these people _wanted_ to get divorced whenever they had problems, they wouldn't need to write in, would they, Margo dear?

But Carolyn Hax was different. No stodgy aunt aura here; more like a sassy girlfriend with a razor-sharp wit. Carolyn wasn't afraid to be sarcastic when the situation called for it. Carolyn had style. And, most importantly, Carolyn was almost always right.

So it was with deep satisfaction that Téa dug into her column. Unfortunately, the first letter was fairly ho-hum stuff about a woman upset because her fiancé's ex-wife was forcing his daughter to be a vegan. The next was more interesting, a young woman asking when an appropriate time to confess her feelings to a man with a girlfriend.

Téa frowned. "How about never," she said. "If he's got a girl, I think you're out of luck." She scanned Carolyn's response, nodding in agreement as she talked about the nonverbal signals already being sent, and how queuing up behind somebody's girlfriend was just plain rude. Go Carolyn, Téa thought with a smile. Then her eyes fell on the next paragraph.

_There is an exception: Would you want to be married to someone who was secretly aching for his ex, his near miss, or best friend? _

Téa's hand froze on the handle of the coffee mug. She kept reading.

_If you're that near miss, or best friend, then you need to speak up at any point you develop romantic feelings for someone who always had feelings for you._

Téa's heart began beating rapidly. She closed her eyes and tried to shake her head and pretend the words didn't apply to her, but she couldn't convince that nagging voice in her heart. But he's engaged! Téa protested. That was about guys with girlfriends; diamond rings are a different story! I mean, what's next, divorces and affairs because of high school crushes?

There were a few more lines left to the column.

_Maybe not after he's legally enmeshed with someone else—there is still a point where decency has the last word—but certainly at any point up to houses, kids, or "I do." _

Téa swallowed. She put the newspaper down, desperately reasoning with herself. This wasn't written to her—like she needed the help of an advice columnist. This didn't apply to her. What was she supposed to do, go running to Yugi and say "I know you're marrying someone else within the week, but I've kinda got a thing for you?" She had her dignity, after all. She didn't even know if Yugi still felt anything towards her anymore.

She didn't know that he didn't.

_At any point up to "I do." _

Téa closed her eyes. She felt like a little girl slowly approaching the diving board for the first time, legs quivering like jelly, stomach clenching, nerves going berserk. The water looked hostile, cold, and so far away. She was at the edge of the board; beyond it was nothing but empty air. Téa opened her eyes and gave the newspaper an irritated glance.

"Carolyn, why do you hate me?"

….

A pile of folded shirts flopped into a battered old suitcase, followed by a few pairs of jeans, a shower of socks, and an array of other sundry clothing items. One by one, Yugi dropped the items into the suitcase. Last of all was a striking black and white tux that Rebecca had repeatedly assured him did not make him look like a penguin. Yugi held on to it a moment longer than necessary and a wistful smile twitched at his lips. The suit hit the suitcase.

Packing. In all of the long talk he and Rebecca had the previous evening, in all of the discussion of the various consequences of their breakup, somehow the thought of packing hadn't occurred to either of them. It wasn't until they "went home" that the awkward realization hit home. There wasn't any way he could consider the Hawkins' ranch "home" anymore.

He had still spent the night in the room that had been "his" since he had come to stay with the Hawkins after that fateful summer. It had been too late to get a hotel room, and besides, it would have felt rude. Not that it didn't feel rude to be spending the night in his ex-fiancée's home, the night after they'd broken up. Even if she was technically the one that broke up with him, it still felt wrong.

So in the morning, it was obvious what had to be done. Yugi picked up the Sudoku puzzle book that Rebecca had given him last birthday and tossed it in with the clothes. Packing. Somehow, he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

....

Across the hall, his erstwhile fiancée was no less perturbed. With nothing so physical as packing to occupy herself with, Rebecca found herself pacing back and forth in her bedroom. It had all started with a decision, a decision that if not _simple_ was at least basic, a decision she made every single day: what to wear. An hour and fifty outfits later, she still hadn't decided.

It was an important decision. You see, sometime today it would inevitably come out that she and Yugi had called off their engagement. And when that happened, Mokuba would surely look at her. And what Mokuba would see in that moment was monumentally important. First and foremost, of course, it had to look good. But not too good, not obviously flirty or seductive like she was out to get the first guy she could lay her hands on. Just a touch flirtatious, but flattering, very flattering. Something that seemed _her._ But nothing that was too "her and Yugi." Something comfortable. But not too comfortable, or too casual, that would scream "post-breakup pity party." Nothing too dark, or too conservative, for the same reason. Something colorful, but sophisticated. But with a childish innocence too. Something playful, something flirty. But not too flirty. Didn't want to look like she was after the first guy that came along…Rebecca threw up her hands in disgust.

"I need to go shopping," she muttered. But deep down she knew that wasn't the problem. She sighed. Just last week she was a strong, independent woman putting the finishing touches on her wedding plans. Now she was acting like an adolescent girl with her first crush. A slow grin slid over her face. And what if she was? She wasn't two years out of her teens, after all, as that night with Mokuba had reminded her. And even if she had always considered Yugi to be her first real crush, she wasn't going to deny that she had noticed that cute boy with the black hair that acted like he ran the place at Kaibaland, before she had decided that Yugi wasn't actually a jerk and a cardthief and was really quite sweet.

But that still didn't solve the clothes dilemma. Rebecca stared at the piles of clothing that covered her bed. The situation had gotten beyond her, she decided ruefully. It was time to call for backup.

….

Yesterday had been very nice. Serenity had gone to the beach with her boyfriend, her brother, and her best friends and it had been wonderful. Then she had gone out to dinner on a double date with her brother and his girlfriend—who of course was one of Serenity's closest friends—and her fabulous fiancé, of course. And that was wonderful too. And then, when they finally got in, late at night, Mai, her dear friend and possible—fingers crossed!—future sister-in-law, had some very interesting, well, gossip to share—tidbits about how Mokuba and Téa weren't dating, but Mokuba might be in love with someone else. And it was very nice to have some "girl talk" and it had really been fun, but…but the long and short of it was that Serenity had been up very, very late. Right now, what she wanted most was to have a wonderful morning. And that meant one that she slept through. Not one in which someone turned on the lights and whispered in her ear and shook her, and woke her up so she could see…

Not one in which Rebecca woke her up at eight o'clock in the morning asking whether she had any clothes that she could borrow.

Serenity rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Rebecca?" she asked groggily.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"Look, I just need to borrow some clothes, okay?" Her voice sounded petulant to Serenity's tired ears.

Serenity forced herself to sit up and swing her legs over the side of the bed. She glanced over at Mai's side of the room. Sure enough, Sleeping Beauty was awake and not happy about it. Serenity stifled a groan and forced herself to focus on the situation at hand. "Look, Rebecca, your house or not, if you think you can come in here early in the morning and I'm just going to give you my clothes…let's just say you're not much of a genius."

"It's not like I'm asking for _carte blanche_," Rebecca grumbled. "I just need some different options."

Serenity rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Look, Rebecca, if you want our help, you're going to have to tell us what's going on.

Rebecca mumbled something under her breath, then sighed. "It's like this…"

…..

Yugi wedged the checkerboard into the suitcase, then surveyed the room. There was still so much stuff. How was he ever going to get it all into the suitcases? Then there were the engagement presents. What was he supposed to do with them? Give them back? Even the used ones? He rubbed his forehead.

The door creaked loudly as it swung open. Joey walked inside. "Hey, Yugi, you got a sec…Whoa." Joey stared at the room. "Uh, Yug? What's going on?"

Yugi froze. "Just…packing," he managed in a relatively normal voice.

Joey frowned. "For the honeymoon?"

"Uh…yeah," Yugi nodded brightly. "For the honeymoon."

Joey stared at him for a second, then cocked his head to the side. "Yugi, did something happen with you and Rebecca?"

Yugi blinked. "How did you know?"

"One, you're a terrible liar. Two, if you're taking that Dungeon Dice Monsters rulebook with you on your honeymoon to Hawaii, you and Rebecca got more problems than I thought."

Yugi looked sheepishly at the manual lying on top of the stuff piled in the suitcase. "Not very convincing, I guess."

"No." Joey sat down on the bed. "So, you wanna talk about it?"

Yugi took a deep breath. He knew the news about the engagement would have to come out sooner or later. "Rebecca and I broke up," he said quietly.

Joey's eyebrows rose. "What happened?"

Yugi shrugged. "We weren't in love with each other anymore."

"So it was Téa." Joey's voice was casual, serious even, but there was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

In a flash, Yugi recalled what Joey had said at the beginning of the week and he reddened. "I wouldn't say that."

Joey looked surprised. He frowned. "It's not Téa? But I thought…I mean, with all the looks you two have been giving each other, I just assumed…"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't assume stuff," Yugi muttered.

"Oh, c'mon, Yug. I go with my gut. Hey, I wasn't wrong about you and Rebecca just now, was I?" He scratched his blond mop. "But if it wasn't Téa, then why in the world did you break off your engagement to Rebecca?"

"Why did I—? I didn't! It was Rebecca's idea."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. _Rebecca_ broke up with _you_? Joey whistled. "Why would she do that?"

…..

Serenity got completely out of bed, knowing that was the only way to make sure that she didn't fall asleep while Rebecca was talking. Mai sat up groggily, and Serenity smiled. Mai never took kindly to being woken up, but Serenity knew if there was anything that could appease the blonde for the rude awakening, hot gossip was it, and Rebecca's story promised to be that, if nothing else. Mai swung her long legs over the side of the bed and pushed her long blonde bangs out of her face, as Rebecca told her story.

It didn't take very long, and Serenity suspected Rebecca had left out some details, but the gist of it was that the wedding was off, Rebecca had broken up with Yugi, and there was something going on with Mokuba. Serenity hadn't quite understood that part. Rebecca was mad at Mokuba for something, but she also liked him, and now she was worried about what to wear and what Mokuba would think…Serenity shook her head. It was all very confusing for eight in the morning, especially when she hadn't had any coffee yet.

Luckily for Rebecca, Mai didn't seem so confused. Mai was slow to wake, but now that she was awake, she was awake with a vengeance. Rebecca's problem concerned two of Mai's favorite things: fashion and matchmaking, and Serenity thought the blonde might just die from glee.

"It's too bad none of my clothes will fit you," she said, looking over Rebecca with appraising violet eyes, "but you're about Serenity's size." Mai pulled open the closet doors and began rummaging through Serenity's clothes, pulling out likely options and tossing them on her bed.

A slight sigh escaped Serenity's lips. It was pointless to protest. Mai was on a fashion rampage.

"Serenity looks good in warm tones and pastels," Mai was saying, "Peaches, roses, and yellows, especially, but deeper tones and cool colors flatter you better, Rebecca." She frowned. "What we really need is Téa's clothes. She has some really nice blue tones in her wardrobe."

"Not an option," Rebecca said quickly before Serenity had a chance to.

"No," Mai conceded with a sigh, and started going through Serenity's drawers.

….

To Joey's credit, he didn't laugh. A couple of times he looked like he really wanted to, but he didn't. Instead, as Yugi finished explained, he gave him a sort of half-sympathetic, half-sheepish smile, and said, "Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out, Yug."

"Thanks, Joey," Yugi muttered. He pulled at the spiky ends of his hair as he shook his head. "Look, how am I supposed to tell people about this? How do you break this kind of news?" Explaining it to his best friend had been hard enough. Breaking it to his could-have-been mother-in-law? Yikes.

Tristan poked his head in the door. "Bad news to deliver? Throw a party and let 'em all get drunk. Works every time," he chuckled.

"Not funny, Tristan," Joey muttered. "But the party isn't a terrible idea. Loosen people up and then announce that you're celebrating your break-up."

"Wait, who broke up?" Tristan asked. "Yugi broke up with Rebecca?"

"Other way around," Joey told him.

"Ouch." Tristan flopped onto the bed. "This doesn't have anything to do with the googly-eyes he's been making at Téa, does it?"

"He says no, but yeah, it's kinda screaming obvious."

"Why does this sound like a bad movie plot?" Yugi muttered, considering Joey and Tristan's "suggestion" and ignoring their other comments.

"Hey, at least there's no evil megalomaniac trying to take over the world," Tristan told him cheerfully.

"And no Shadow Realm," added Joey.

"Why couldn't I have a normal life?" Yugi moaned.

Joey shot him a serious look. "Hey, Yugi, don't forget: If you had been the shy kid who got picked on all through high school and me and Tristan would have been the ones picking on you. And Serenity would never have gotten her operation, and I'd have never met Mai, and you'd never have met Rebecca, and…"

"I get it. My life would be totally different."

"You can say that again," Tristan agreed.

"Yeah," said Joey. "What would you have that you have now?"

"Téa." It escaped Yugi's lips in a soft murmur. He looked up and met Joey's eyes. "Before the Puzzle, before you guys, before everything, I had Téa."

Tristan smiled. "There you have it." He steered Joey out of the room, but before they were far enough away to be out of earshot, Tristan leaned over to Joey and whispered, "And the guy says he's not in love."

Yugi smiled. He picked a picture up off the dresser. It was an old one of the gang, grinning faces pressed close together and fingers flashing the peace sign. He looked at Téa's face, so close to his, bright smiles on both of their faces. Gently, Yugi laid the frame in the suitcase.

"I'll do it," he decided. "I'll do tonight."


	22. Returning

A/N: At long last, the return of Say Something! I promise there will be no more hiatuses, and Say Something will be updated about bi-weekly until the end of the story. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Returning

Téa yawned luxuriously and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The alarm clock on the nightstand said 11:27. Oops. Well, that was what she got for not setting an alarm last night—not to mention tossing and turning half the night thinking about Yugi. Now the day was nearly half-gone, and here she was still in her pajamas!

Still, she did feel gloriously well-rested. Sleep had become an all-too precious commodity since rehearsals had started for The Dark Magician Girl, but Téa hadn't realized just how tired she was. Slowly, she got to her feet and made her way to the mirror. She rubbed her sleep-bleared eyes and ran a hand through her disheveled hair. She was going to need a lot of time to make the right impression tonight. The reality of the commitment she had made last night swept over her, and a familiar jittery feeling stirred in the pit of her stomach. But Téa had never let the jitters stop her from taking the stage before. She closed her eyes and murmured the mantra she'd learned back in her very first dance class.

"Butterflies, give me wings."

........

"You need to talk to her."

Mokuba kept typing. The sound of the clicking keys was oddly soothing in its safe familiarity. He leaned into the glare of the screen. This was his domain. This was what he was good at, what he could control.

He could hear Leon sigh. "Don't ignore me. I'm serious. You have to talk to her. You can't leave things like this."

Mokuba didn't answer for a long time. The tangled mess of emotions warring inside him: love, pain, passion, and guilt, was still so raw and messy. It was easier to just push it away, to hold it at bay with lines of computer code. A thought niggled at him. Was this what Seto did?

Mokuba stopped typing. "She doesn't want to talk to me, Leon," he said finally. "I think she hates me."

Leon looked at him. "She was upset. You _knew_ she would be upset. Now she's had some time to cool off and think things over."

"So she can coolly and rationally explain why she hates my guts and never wants to see me again."

Mokuba was surprised by the bitterness of his own voice. Talking about Rebecca was like ripping open a black hole in his soul. He still wanted her more than anything, but he had screwed things up in every possible way. No sane woman would ever look at him again, and Rebecca was more than sane. She was brilliant, beautiful, witty, and utterly charming. A deep ache seared through him, an ache that was not at all soothed by Leon's mumbled, "You don't know that, Mokuba."

......

Téa limbered up with her stretches, and then went into her daily calisthenics routine. She always felt more awake and alive when she started her day with some exercise, and this was definitely a day for doing right. She lowered herself into a deep squat, as the muscles in the back of her thighs burned. Téa had neglected her workouts lately, and it definitely showed. Madame Marceau would have her butt for it when she got back. The burn deepened into a fire as she held the squat. Madame Marceau would also chew her out about her diet if she knew the way Téa had been eating. Too many carbs and not enough vegetables, not mention those delectable chocolate chip cookies Serenity had baked and brought to the beach yesterday. Who knew that girl could cook like that! No wonder Tristan was in love with her.

Téa's mouth watered at the memory of those cookies, but she added five crunches and ten leglifts to her workout. If you do not master your body, it will master you, Madame was fond of saying. Téa had no intention of letting that happen. She had already let so many things get out of control, things she should have dealt with long ago.

She bit her lip. All of this would have been so much simpler if she'd said something way back when, after Atem left them, and her grief had healed, and she had come to recognize her schoolgirl crush for what it was. Now, things had grown complicated, and messy. If Yugi did return her feelings, Téa could imagine how much it would hurt Rebecca. But on the other hand, if he didn't…If she lost Yugi now…now, when she finally understood how she felt about him…Téa's heart clenched. It couldn't happen. Destiny could not be so cruel.

......

Leon wanted to scream in frustration as he watched Mokuba at to his computer. He'd woken up to find the black-haired boy typing away and he been glued to it ever since, despite Leon's best efforts to pull away and stir him into action, instead of this incessant brooding. Mokuba put on a cheerful face in public, but in private he was becoming increasingly morose. Ever since the scene at the restaurant, Mokuba had channeled his frustrations into his laptop, constantly working, barely saying anything. Considering the less than stellar example his brother had set, Leon would have thought that Mokuba would have seen the danger of the path he was treading, but it seemed Mokuba was beyond caring.

Leon kicked at the floor. "Look, Mokuba, the whole reason I agreed to help you in the first place was because you were so determined, so passionate, like nothing was going to stop you. And now, you're just…lying around like a dead log. How can you give up now?"

Mokuba stopped typing, but he didn't look up. "She doesn't want me. She's going to marry Yugi." His hands clenched.

"And this is different from last week…how?"

"It's not," Mokuba said bitterly. "That's the point. Nothing's changed."

"You don't know that until you talk to her," Leon pointed out.

"I talked to her enough. You weren't there last night, Leon. She wouldn't even look at me; that's how much she hated me."

"I was there to clean up your mess," Leon said quietly. "I talked to her that night too. And I'm telling you, Mokuba, don't give up on her yet."

Mokuba was quiet for a moment. "You really think I have a shot with her?"

"About the odds of blowing up the Death Star, but it's there." Leon looked at Mokuba. "You really want to walk away now?"

There was a long silence. Mokuba's fingers hovered over the keyboard, and Leon was afraid he really was going to blow off everything and walk away. Then Mokuba sighed. "No," he whispered, closing his computer. "No, I don't."

Leon couldn't help grinning. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's get in the car."

Now? But I—"

"Come on." Leon grabbed Mokuba's hand and pulled him out the door.

......

Dinner was in a few hours, but Yugi needed something to distract him before he went crazy. He hadn't seen or heard from Téa all day and he couldn't erase the niggling worry that she had gone back to New York. Tristan had assured him that she wouldn't do that, but what if she did?

He headed for the kitchen, planning to raid the fridge, only to belatedly realize that Rebecca had beaten him to the punch. He started to turn around when Rebecca said, "Hey, what's up?"

He froze. Rebecca pulled her head out of the fridge and closed the door. Her smile faltered a little. "Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me," Yugi mumbled. Rebecca looked very nice today, Yugi noticed, in a deep pink dress he hadn't seen before. He felt a pang as he realized she wasn't wearing it for him. "Uh, hello, Rebecca."

"Hi, Yugi." Rebecca bit her lip. The awkwardness in the air was an almost tangible force. "Can I help you with something?"

"No, it's okay. I was just looking for a snack."

Rebecca turned back to the fridge and rummaged around, finally coming up with a bag of baby carrots. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, sure." At this point, Yugi would have eaten a can of raw spinach, a la Popeye, just to escape the kitchen.

Rebecca washed a handful of carrots and put them on a plate. "There's some ranch dressing for dip in the fridge," she said, handing him the plate. "Just don't let Joey and Tristan see it." She gave him a strained sort of smile. "I don't think our grocery budget could stand it if they raided the fridge again."

"Scout's honor," Yugi said. He tried to laugh, but it came out sounding flat. He quickly turned away and busied himself looking for the dressing.

He heard Rebecca sigh. "Yugi?"

"Yeah?" His fingers closed around the bottle of ranch.

"We need to talk."

Yugi slowly backed out of the fridge and shut the door. "What do we need to talk about?" he said, trying to keep the weariness out of his voice. Hadn't they said everything they needed to last night. What was the point in hashing it out all over again? He'd thought this chapter was closed, and all he wanted to do was turn the page.

"When are we going to tell people?" Rebecca wanted to know.

Yugi blinked. "Uh, tell people?"

"About the wedding." There was a slight hiss of exasperation to Rebecca's voice. "We have to announce it to people soon. I've already called the caterer and the florist, and so forth—by the way, I doubt we're going to get all of our money back—but we still need to, y'know, tell the guests."

Yugi squirted a dollop of dressing onto his plate. "Tristan thinks we should get everybody drunk before we break the news."

Rebecca rubbed her forehead. "That's not a bad—Wait, you told Tristan?"

"And Joey," Yugi admitted.

"Well, I did tell Mai and Serenity," confessed Rebecca.

Yugi laughed nervously. "Mai got a hold of it? We could just let the rumor mill do our work for us," he joked.

Rebecca frowned. "We can't do that. We're talking about a wedding here, Yugi. Some of these people have flown in from across the country to be here. The very least we owe them is a proper explanation."

"I know, I know." Yugi sighed. "After dinner, then?" Maybe Téa would be there, and then, afterwards, he could explain to her, let her know the feelings he finally dared to admit to himself. A flush traveled up his spine as he tried to picture the look in her eyes when he finally could tell her he loved her.

Rebecca broke into his thoughts. "Are you going to do it, or should I?"

Yugi was taken aback. "I will, of course," he said, frowning at her.

He could have sworn Rebecca rolled her eyes at him. "Fine, then," Rebecca said, tossing her head, and left the room.

"What did I say?" Yugi muttered. Rebecca wasn't even his girlfriend anymore, and she could still make him feel like an insensitive idiot with just a look.

The doorbell rang. Yugi's heart did a strange little flip in his chest. He quickly ran a hand through his spiky hair as he went to answer the door. Could it finally be Téa?

......

Mokuba fidgeted nervously as he heard footsteps approach the door. In a second, it would open and he would be face to face with Rebecca for the first time since she had begged him to leave at the restaurant. He fumbled for the words he had practiced in the car to Leon's careful coaching, but all he drew was a blank.

The doorknob turned. Mokuba's mouth went dry. The door swung open and Yugi smiled out at him.

"Yugi?" Mokuba was too stunned to even manage a hello.

The smile faded from Yugi's face and his eyes clouded. "Uh, hello, Mokuba," he said, sounding strangled.

Mokuba stood there dumbly, mind whirling frantically. _Does he know?_ Mokuba couldn't help but wonder. _Did Rebecca tell him?_ _About the computers?…the restaurant?_ He couldn't bring himself to meet Yugi's eyes. "Hi, Yugi," he muttered, kicking at the doormat.

Yugi's mouth tightened. His unhappiness at seeing Mokuba was evident. He had to know Mokuba was trying to steal his fiancée. Mokuba almost turned tail and left, but he could feel Leon's eyes burning into the back of his neck, and he forced himself to take a step forward. "I was hoping to talk to Rebecca. Is she here?" he heard himself say.

"About the computer problems?" His tone was bland enough, but there was an ironic twist on "computer" that made Mokuba almost choke.

"Yeah," he managed, "about the computers. Um, is she around?"

"I think she went upstairs," Yugi said, an odd look in his eyes. He stepped aside and let Mokuba step inside the house.

"Thanks," Mokuba mumbled. He headed for the stairs, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. He had to find Rebecca _now_, before he lost his nerve.

......

"Hi, Yugi. Y'know how when we were in high school, you had this humungous crush on me? I mean, you never said anything, but everyone knew, and I never said anything because I didn't think of you that way, because I had this humungous crush on your sexy alter ego? Yeah. So, anyway, I've been doing some thinking lately, and, well, I like you. Yeah. So you wanna dump your fiancée and jump into some sort of romantic relationship with me, or what?"

The cabbie blinked. "Uh, you need a minute, lady?" He scratched his head. "Or some medication, maybe?"

"I'm fine," managed Téa, scraping together the last vestiges of her dignity and holding her head high as she climbed into the cab under the slack-jawed stare of the taxi driver and gave him the Hawkins' address. Her wounded pride resentfully grumbled that no New York cabbie would have batted an eye, even if she had made a fine cake of herself on the curb outside the hotel. The rest of her wanted to melt into the sticky vinyl seat, or at least bury her face in her hands. But that would have wrecked the perfect makeup she had spent nearly a half hour on, and pulling her hair out would have undone those hours of shampooing, combing, blow-drying, straightening, gelling, curling the edges, and finding those cute blue rhinestone barrettes. So, Téa settled for balling up her hands with those self-manicured nails, and silently berating herself for totally losing her mind.

The thing was, she couldn't shake the notion that this was a one-shot deal. Yugi was getting married in two days, and after that, Téa would not interfere. Between Joey's divorced parents, and her own separated ones, Téa wasn't naïve enough to think that marriage always lasted forever, but deep in the core of her, the part that believed in friendship, trust, hope, and following your dreams, she knew that it _should_. If Yugi chose to marry Rebecca, that was the end of it. Any feelings Téa Gardner had would have to die a slow death of starvation. Yugi's marriage might dissolve on its own—though Téa suspected her jealousy was impairing her judgment—but Téa wouldn't stick around to watch like some sick vulture. If Yugi didn't want her, then somehow she would get through the wedding and then she would take off for New York, and never look back. And pray that somehow, someday, Fate would send her someone who would erase all her memories of a violet-eyed boy with crazy hair.

Téa closed her eyes. Deep down, she knew if Yugi really loved her, it wouldn't make any difference whether she made her confession in sweats or in a gorgeous evening gown that could have won a beauty pageant all on its own. But looking great would boost her confidence, and any other edge it might give her was more than welcome.

Still, she did feel a little overdressed for a casual dinner at the Hawkins, though. It was hard to stand out without sticking out. Téa had a foreboding feeling that if this evening went poorly, private pain would quickly degenerate into public humiliation.

"You can't start thinking of the worst-case scenario, girl," she scolded herself. "Where's your self-confidence? Where's your visualization techniques? Picture everything going right, saying just the right words with just the right intonation. And then, ahh, he smiles, and you know, deep inside, that he feels the same, and everything's going to be alright."

"I'm sorry, lady," the taxi driver interrupted. "But are you sure you'll alright?"

Téa opened her eyes and shook her head ruefully. "Nope." She grinned suddenly. "I think I'm in love."

.....

When Mokuba had played out how everything would go in his head, he hadn't pictured himself creeping all over the upstairs, tentatively trying door after door to find which room was Rebecca's. He had thought he finally had it when he had heard female voices coming from one room, but it had turned out to be Mai and Serenity. They had stared at him dumbfounded as he awkwardly apologized for interrupting. After a particularly awkward silence, Serenity had even broken out into a fit of giggles and had to hug a pink pillow to her face. At least he finally knew which room was Rebecca's. Mai had given him extremely clear directions, as her knowing smirk grew wider and wider.

Mokuba's slow, measured tread stopped in front of the door Mai had described. _This is it_, he thought, clenching his clammy palm and raising it to the door. He took a long deep breath and knocked.

"Who is it?" Rebecca's voice called from inside.

"It's Mokuba."

There was a silence. Then the door opened. "Mokuba," she said quietly. "Why are you here?"

Mokuba's breath caught. Rebecca looked stunning in a raspberry-colored sundress, pearls around her throat, her hair half-pulled back, half tumbling loose over her bare shoulders. An enigmatic half-smile played at her lips. "Well," she said, "aren't you going to say anything?"

Mokuba swallowed. He had to say this fast before he lost all of his nerve. "Rebecca…look, I know you must hate me right now, and I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, but—"

"I don't hate you," Rebecca interrupted.

"You…don't?" He hardly dared look at her.

She shook her head. "No, I don't." She started to say something, then stopped. "Look, are you just going to stand outside the door all day? Come in." She stood aside and Mokuba awkwardly stepped inside the doorway. The walls of Rebecca's room were pale butter yellow, and the curtains and the bedspread were ocean blue. Rebecca sat down on the bed, her bare calves dangling deliciously off the side of the bed. Mokuba dragged his eyes back to her face. The curtains were open and the evening sunlight shimmered on her hair and threw intriguing shadows on her face.

"Look," Rebecca began with a sigh, "I think what you did was awful, okay?"

"You made that pretty clear the other night," Mokuba said, daring to take a few steps closer.

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah. It was terrible, and _completely_ unethical, understand. It was wrong." She stood. The distance between them seemed suddenly less. "But, I don't hate _you_, y'know."

"Oh." Mokuba swallowed. Not being hated was good, he guessed. It was a start. "But the other night…"

"The other night, I was angry," Rebecca said. "I was hurt. You betrayed my trust, Mokuba, you sabotaged my wedding. How did you _think_ I was going to respond?"

"I see your point," he sighed.

"But now, I've had some time to think things over a little," she said. Was it just his rampant wishful thinking, or was her tone almost coy? "And, well, I guess I'm not so angry anymore."

"So…we're okay?"

Rebecca frowned. "Do you think it's going to be that easy?"

"Huh?"

"You abused my trust, Mokuba. You're going to have to work to get it back." Her scowl suddenly melted into an almost playful grin. "But don't give up hope," she said, just above a whisper. Then the smile disappeared back into the disapproving frown.

Mokuba's heart beat so fast he thought it would pound right out of his ribcage. He swallowed, trying to calm the wild, joyous hope that swelled in his chest. He cleared his throat. "Ah, so how are the wedding plans going?" he asked, trying to keep his voice casual. "That is, I mean, did you get everything straightened out?"

An odd sort of smile played on Rebecca's lips. "You might as well know," she said quietly. "Yugi and I called off our engagement."

Mokuba stared at her, hardly able to believe his ears. "Rebecca…I…I…I'm sorry," he managed to say finally.

Rebecca grinned "No, you're not, you liar," she said. "And know what? I'm not either." She had such a smugly satisfied smile that Mokuba couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forward suddenly and pulled Rebecca into his arms, and covered that catlike grin with his lips.


	23. Under the Sunset

A/N: Thanks a million to my beta Loverly Light for her help with this chapter! Also, thanks to all my reviewers You guys make my day.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Under the Sunset

The dying sunlight bathed the ranchhouse in a soft, pink-gold light, giving it a dreamy look, like something out of an old movie or a fairytale. Téa's breath caught. She'd never imagined the ranch could look so romantic. It was almost like a benevolent wink from the universe…but was it meant for her or for Rebecca?

The cab pulled to a stop in front of the Hawkins' driveway. "Well, here you are," announced the cabbie. As he waved his hand toward the house, a gold band on his left hand caught the light. He winked at Téa as she paid him. "Must be a special guy."

Téa smiled. "He is."

"Well, good luck, then," he said, flashing her a grin.

Téa nodded. "I'm going to need it," she murmured absently as the taxi drove away. Her slingbacks clicked against the pavement as she walked towards the Hawkins' house. "Okay, girl, this is it." She took a deep breath. "Showtime."

…

With the very last baby carrot, Yugi scraped up the dregs of the ranch dressing. He bit into it with an audible crunch, and then chewed it slowly, trying to make it last.

"Hey, Yug', you okay?" Joey dropped himself into the seat next to him.

"Yeah, man, you've been mopey all day long." Tristan scratched his pointy hair. "On the other hand, I guess that's to be expected. I mean, I was all down when Melody rejected me in high school, and that was just kids stuff, especially compared to getting dumped by your fiancée."

Joey elbowed him. "Not helping," he stage-whispered.

Yugi rolled his eyes. "It's okay, guys. I'm not going to have some kind of meltdown if you talk about Rebecca in front of me."

"Not even if we mention how she's making out with Mokuba upstairs?"

Tristan glowered at Joey. "_Now_ who's not helping?"

"Whoa, _what?_" Yugi groaned and rubbed his head. "I think my brain just broke." He didn't even know what to think. His emotions were running in all different directions. Shock, first and foremost, then instinctive jealousy, which he quickly reminded himself was unfounded, a sort of "good for Mokuba" feeling, a recoiling from the weirdness of Rebecca making out with someone other than him, and envy, not over Rebecca, but that Mokuba had made his move so swiftly and simply and won Rebecca, while Yugi still had yet to win over the girl that he'd loved since…well, if he was honest, since first grade.

"See? I knew you shouldn't have told him that."

"How was I supposed to know he'd freak out? I thought he and Rebecca broke up."

"People generally don't like to have it rubbed in their faces that their ex is making smoochy faces with somebody else, moron."

"Watch who you're calling moron, monkey boy. But isn't he head over heels for Téa, anyway?" Joey scratched his head. "Man, ever since this wedding business started goin' on, relationships have gotten more complicated than daytime TV."

"Are we talking _The Young and The Restless_, or _Sesame Street_?" Tristan teased. "It's just so hard to understand the nuances of Ernie and Bert's forbidden love."

"Dude, that's sick. Don't make jokes like that, you're destroying what few precious childhood memories I have." Joey chuckled. "Funny, though."

"Not really." Yugi fixed his two oldest buddies with what he hoped was an intimidating stare. "Look, if you guys are just going to be goofy—and yeah, I know that's what you do best—can you do it somewhere else. I'm really not in the mood."

"Wow, was America's Sweetheart, Yugi Muto, really just…cranky?"

Joey snickered and high-fived Tristan. "Nice."

Okay, enough was enough. "I'm serious. Cut. It. Out."

It was times like these when Yugi really wished he could borrow Kaiba's trademark glare and ability to instantly make someone feel two inches tall. His own outburst had managed to make Joey and Tristan look a _little_ shame-faced and subdued, but not nearly enough. What it had done, however, was remind them of their original game: Let's Fix Yugi.

Joey gave him a look, the kind of serious, searching look that ordinarily you would never associate with Joey. It was almost freaky how he could be so clueless and goofy one minute, and then suddenly become so intense. Yugi could almost see the fire begin to flicker in those warm brown eyes that felt like they could burn right into his heart. It was times like these that Yugi never questioned how Joey could win a woman like Mai…or how he and Joey could have been best friends for so long.

"So what _is_ goin' on, Yug?" He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "It might be kinda weird for you that Rebecca's with Mokuba so quickly, but that's not what's got you down. Like Tristan said, you've been mopin' around all day."

"Maybe I don't feel like talking about it."

"Too bad. Now spill."

Yugi sighed. "It's just…Téa, I guess."

Tristan nudged Joey. "Knew it," he stage-whispered.

"Shut it, Tristan," he muttered back, giving the brunette a light shove. He turned back to Yugi. "So…Téa. You having second thoughts about her, or what?"

"No, that's not it. I'm just worried because she hasn't shown up today."

"A lot of people haven't," Tristan pointed out. "The Ishtars went sight-seeing with Raphael and Valon. Duke and Vivian went back to Duke's place in the city, and there's been no word of Bakura yet today. The ranch has been kinda slow lately. I wouldn't read too much into Téa going AWOL."

"What if…she went back to New York?" Yugi said, finally giving voice to the fear that had plagued him all day. "What if she's…gone?"

Tristan scratched his head. "Well…that's…not very likely," he finished lamely.

Joey grinned. "Take it from someone with experience, Yug': Sometimes the girl of your dreams up and walks away from ya. Sometimes she just leaves and never comes back."

"Never comes back," Yugi echoed, somehow feeling empty, yet heavy at the same time.

"Yup. Then there's just one thing to do."

"No! I can't just forget about her! I-I _love_ her!" Yugi suddenly realized that he had sprung to his feet, both fists clenched.

Joey regarded him coolly, brown eyes twinkled with amusement. "Nobody's asking you to forget about her, Yugi. If she leaves, what you gotta do is chase her."

"Chase her," Yugi repeated, sitting back done.

"There's an echo in here," Tristan muttered to himself.

Joey ignored him. "Forget that stuff about 'If you love her, let her go.' If you really love her, don't let her wreck everything just 'cuz she's got an attitude bigger than Texas, a chip on her shoulder to match, and all this wounded pride and a whole set of issues she'd rather run away from than deal with. Or whatever the problem is. The point is, if she runs away, you run after her. I don't think Téa's gone to New York, but if she has, then that's where you've gotta go. Capiche?"

"Yeah, I think so. Uh, thanks, Joey."

"Hey, no problem. What are friends for, besides, y'know, taking down world-conquering psychopaths?" He stretched back. "So, got any more carrot sticks?"

…

"Well, I guess that solves _that_ mystery."

Mai's self-satisfied smirk as she came back into the room was almost enough to send Serenity back into a fit of giggles. But she suppressed the urge and fixed a disapproving glare on her face as she sat upright. "Mai," she sighed. "I can't believe you eavesdropped on Mokuba and Rebecca. That was obviously a private conversation."

"Oh, definitely," Mai said with a wink. She sat down next to Serenity on her bed, picking up the much-abused pillow and fluffing it, before setting it back down at the head of the bed. She nudged the younger girl. "Oh, come on. Don't you want to know what they said?"

As a matter of fact, Serenity was dying to know, but she just couldn't condone Mai's spying on people in their own house. "No, I don't want to know. Aren't you even a little ashamed of yourself? We're only guests in Rebecca's house. If she wants to have an intimate conversation with someone, without everyone else listening, then—"

"And you're not curious at all, as to just how "intimately" their conversation is going?"

Serenity stopped, a slow flush beginning to rise on her cheeks and her rampant curiosity getting the better of her. "When you say that, you mean…"

"Mokuba and Rebecca. Making out. For about ten minutes now."

"Mai!" Serenity went red.

"I don't make the news, hon," the irrepressible blonde said with a salacious wink. "I just report it." She grinned. "This place is better than _General Hospital_." Mai rubbed her hands together. "There's just one loose end left."

"You and Joey?" Serenity deflected skillfully. "Seriously, are you guys ever going to get married?"

"Why don't you ask your brother that question, Ren?" said Mai, rolling her eyes. "Now, if only Téa would show up."

Serenity was about to make a retort, when the doorbell rang. Mai grinned. "Perfect timing."

…

Yugi was on his feet the moment the doorbell rang. He rushed to the door. "Remember to breathe," Tristan called out behind him. Yugi could hear him and Joey chuckling, and he couldn't help but smile.

He straightened his collared shirt and took a deep breath. _Relax, Yugi, relax_. But despite himself, anticipation tingled in his fingertips as he reached out and turned the doorknob. The door swung inward. "Hello, Téa," he whispered.

"Yugi." A soft smile tugged at those rose petal lips as Téa stepped inside. "I was hoping to see you today."

Yugi couldn't help but grin. "Well, here I am."

"Here you are," Téa agreed. She toyed with the strap of her purse. "So, um…"

"Oh," Yugi realized. "Let me get that for you." He reached for her purse, and suddenly realized it was the same navy handbag from that night, in the parking lot. His eyes met Téa's and for a moment, a secret, silent laughter passed between them. As he took the bag, his fingers brushed hers, a sudden warmth licking through his veins. A second passed, and then another, before Téa let her hand drop, a faint flush staining her cheeks.

Yugi turned and went to hang the purse in the closet. He could hear Téa's heels clicking behind him as she followed him down the hall. He swallowed. The words he longed to say felt like they would burst out of his chest at any moment. But he knew this wasn't the kind of thing he could just blurt out. He had to work up to it, somehow. Yugi closed the closet door and turned back to Téa. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Téa smiled. "I'd love to."

The ranch house overlooked vast stretches of open fields, framed by a stunning panorama of the distant mountains. The view had always been one of the things Yugi had loved most about the house, yet he found his eyes wandering time and again to the even more stunning vision beside him. Could the way the sunset glow around them made everything seem soft and romantic making his eyes go crazy, or was it possible that Téa really could look so good? Her chestnut hair danced lightly over her bare shoulders, stirred by the same breeze that played with the asymmetrical hem of her pale blue dress, sending it rippling around her knees. In the pink-orange glow, her pale skin seemed deliciously soft and smooth, until Yugi's fingers ached to stroke it and he had to tear his eyes away. They slid upwards, meeting Téa's. A sudden blush stole over her cheeks.

"Um, so, Yugi, I was hoping to talk to you." The words tumbled over each other as they spilled out of her mouth.

Yugi nodded. Part of him hated to let words ruin this magical moment, but the other part knew it was finally time to clear the air. "I've been wanting to talk to you too, Téa," he said softly. "There are some things I need to let you know."

"There are?" Was it just his imagination, or did a light just spark in those vivid blue eyes as Téa turned them towards him.

He nodded again. He hesitated, searching for the right words. "Téa, do you remember when we first met?'

"Back in first grade?" She smiled. "Yeah, I'll say. You were pretty memorable, even back when you were a kid, porcupine head." She chuckled, reaching up and ruffling a spike. Warmth washed over Yugi, and he wanted nothing more than to lean into her touch and sweep her into his arms. But he couldn't. Not yet.

"It took a while for us to really become friends," he said. "But I knew from that first day on the playground that we would, somehow."

"Really? You never told me that before. Like some kind of ESP?"

Yugi shook his head. "Just like a feeling, really deep down." He swallowed. "And we did become friends, and we've been friends for a really long time now." He looked her in the eye. "Téa, we've gone through so much together, and you've always been there for me whenever I needed you."

"And you've always been there for me," she said, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'd have been toast so many times if it wasn't for you always saving me."

Yugi turned his face away. "That wasn't me," he mumbled. "That was Atem."

"Not always," she protested. "It wasn't Atem who found me in Noah's virtual world, Yugi; it was you." Her eyelids lowered as she leaned almost imperceptibly forward, her hand slipping from his shoulder. "I could have frozen solid if you hadn't come to rescue me, Yugi."

"You won the duel on your own," he said, shaking his head. "Besides, it was only virtual. Even if I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have died."

"That's not the point." Her lips curved and Yugi could almost swear there was laughter in her eyes. "The point is…you _were _there. Right when I needed you. Like you've been all of these years, since we first met. And I—" Her voice faltered and she swallowed.

Yugi broke in. "It's just that you've given me so much over the years, Téa; kindness, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, and caring."

"You mean a lot to me, Yugi." Oh, for an eternity to sift the soft, almost breathless tone of her voice, the half-curve of her smile, and the look in her eyes for every last grain of meaning. But Yugi didn't have an eternity, and he had to know. So, with a deep breath, he jumped in.

"You mean a lot to me, too, Téa. You always have. In fact, even from the very beginning, I've…that is, I'd hoped, well…" He sighed. "What I'm trying to say is, I've always been in love with you, Téa, and I realize now I always will be."


	24. Taking the Leap

Chapter Twenty-Four: Taking the Leap

It seemed like the whole world froze into place and everything went silent except for the wild beating of her heart. Had he just said what she thought he said? Her lips parted, but she couldn't breathe, let alone make a sound. "Yugi." It sounded ragged, like it had been wrenched from her very soul. Téa forced herself to take a deep breath. This was it. She had to answer, had to tell him that she felt the same way. She swallowed, and willed her voice not to quiver. "Yugi, I can't believe—"

"HEY, TEA! YOU'VE GOT A PHONE CALL!"

Téa nearly jumped out of her skin, and only her dancer training saved her from tripping over her own slingbacks. She whipped her head around to see Mokuba leaning out of a first-floor window. He waved her pink Razr in the air as he yelled. "Aren't you going to come answer it?"

Never before in her life had Téa experienced such a violent desire to strangle Mokuba Kaiba. With an effort, she forced down her boiling anger, reminding herself that Mokuba had no idea what he'd just interrupted, and tried not to irrevocably shatter what was left of the mood. Screaming and snarling was out, so she grudgingly settled for irritation, "Look, I'm in the middle of…something," she finished awkwardly, her cheeks growing hot. She ducked a glance at Yugi and watched him redden as well, before looking down. Poor guy. She couldn't just leave him hanging like this.

She lifted her head and shouted back to Mokuba, "Is it important? I'll be up in bit and I can call them back then." She took a deep breath, then slowly let it out before turning back to face Yugi, offering him a small smile.

"The Caller ID says Langston Michaels," Mokuba called down.

Téa froze. Giving Yugi the most apologetic look her facial features were capable of forming, she said softly, "I have to go," then turned and ran towards the house.

…

Yugi stared after Téa as she ran across the field to the house, her dress frothing around her legs as she ran. He felt as though he'd opened a door to an enchanted castle, only to get doused by a bucket of water—but instead of water, the bucket was full of fruitcakes ten Christmases old. He rubbed his head. Everything had gone so perfectly, better than he could have possibly planned, or even dreamed. They had stood here together in the romantic light of the setting sun, and he had opened his heart and told her how he truly felt…and then she had run off to take a phone call, and he was left standing here, dazed and confused.

It wasn't that he was jealous of whoever this "Langston Michaels" was. There was definitely no reason to assume that he was Téa's boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, or something like that, not even when he considered the odd look in her eyes and the way she'd flown away like a startled bird as soon as Mokuba had said the name. Not it wasn't that. It was…well, it was just that he'd been _so close_. So close, so tantalizingly close, to finally knowing, once and for all, how Téa truly felt about him. And for a moment, that brief moment before Mokuba's yell had ruined everything, he had believed that she felt the same way.

Now, he didn't know what to think. What kind of phone call could possibly be important enough to interrupt a declaration of love, if that was what she really was going to say? Unless it was her dying grandfather…but he would have thought that Téa would have told them if her grandfather was ill, let alone dying. Though, if Yugi really stopped to think about it, he knew very little about Téa's life since she had moved to New York. It was possible that she had an ailing grandfather she'd never mentioned—or a boyfriend.

_Surely Téa would have told me if she had a boyfriend waiting in New York_, Yugi reasoned with himself. But then up until yesterday, he had been engaged. Yugi exhaled sharply. _She still doesn't know!_ He had told Téa that he loved her, but he had never told her that he and Rebecca had broken up. Yugi chewed his lip as he headed back towards the house, quickening his pace. Considering the awkward way their conversation had broken off, Yugi wasn't exactly sure how he was going to tell her, but he was sure that he didn't want the news coming from anyone else.

…

As soon as Téa walked into the house Mokuba handed her the phone. She took a second to catch her breath before speaking. "Hello?"

"Gardner, is that you?"

"Yes, sir," she said crisply, trying not to let the man's acerbic tone bite. "May I ask the reason for this call?"

"Don't get snippy with me, Ms. Gardner. You might have gotten a few flattering reviews, but it takes far more than that to make a star, believe me." Téa bit back an angry retort, reminding herself that her career was in the hands of this man, no matter how little she liked his personality. Thankfully, Michaels went on. "I'm calling about this 'leave of absence' you've taken."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Michaels? I know I've extended my vacation, but there aren't any performances scheduled during my absence. Mr. Franklin assured me it would be quite all right if I prolonged my stay a few days."

"Hang Franklin."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, Gardener, I will not tolerate any divas in my cast. Simply because you happen to be the lead does not mean you can gallivant about the country all you want."

"But sir—"

"In fact, it means you should demonstrate an even greater commitment to this production and to your castmates. Don't expect others to cover for you when you return out of practice and out of shape."

"Sir—"

"Furthermore, it is your responsibility, your _duty_, to keep yourself informed about any changes to the production schedule."

Téa had hunkered down under the barrage of criticisms, but there was something about the way he said that last point that made her straighten and pay attention. "Sir?"

"Not to put too fine a point on it, Ms. Gardner, we have a performance in four days, and rehearsals until then. You must return to New York _immediately_."

"What? But why can't Emily—"

"Gardner! If you do not attend rehearsals, you do not perform. Anything else would be a betrayal of the hard work of your castmates."

"I realize that, ." Téa fought to keep her voice calm as her outrage grew. "I was suggesting that Emily could perform the role, as I am unable to."

"Unacceptable," he snapped.

"But, Mr. Michaels—"

"Be there, Gardner!" The phone went silent and Téa realized he had hung up. She sighed and rubbed her forehead before scrolling through her address book and placing another call. She wandered over to the stairwell and sat down.

"Madame Marceau?"

If there was anyone who could talk Langston Michaels out of one of his moods, it was the formidable Gabrielle Marceau. Téa informed her of the call she had just received, and explained that her friend's wedding still hadn't taken place. "I asked him if Emily couldn't fill in," she ended, "but he wasn't very receptive to the idea."

"That man," muttered Madame, a sigh in her voice. "It would be wonderful for Emily. The very thing. That girl is very talented, you know, _ma cherie_, but she requires…an occasion to shine. I have the uttermost confidence she will rise to the occasion."

"So do I," murmured Téa, though she couldn't help a tiny part of her wishing hat her understudy wouldn't shine _too_ brilliantly. "But Michaels needs convincing."

"Then I will convince him, _ma fille_." Téa could practically see Madame's smug smirk. "Consider it done. Now, do not fret. Fretting wrinkles the skin and ages a pretty young girl before her time."

"Yes, Madame. And thank you."

Téa took a deep breath of relief as she closed the phone. Madame would handle Michaels. The director didn't stand a chance. All that she needed to worry about now was finishing her conversation with Yugi. She closed her eyes, replaying the words he had said so recently. _I've always been in love with you, Téa, and I realize now I always will be._

She smiled. He had always loved her. To think that she had been so stupid for so long, that she had almost lost him…

There were footsteps in the hall, then Serenity's voice. "You seem happy this evening, Rebecca," she said playfully.

There was a sigh, a happy, contented sigh. "I _am_ happy. More than I ever knew I could be." Rebecca laughed, a tinkling sound that smashed against Téa's senses like glass. "I'm sure you understand, Serenity. I'm in love!"

For a moment, Téa thought they would round the corner, but the footsteps retreated back into the living room and melted into the general bustle of the house. Téa's shoulders slumped and she stared at the floor.

"She has no idea," she whispered. Just the sound of Rebecca's voice radiated the pure delight one would expect from a bride about to marry the love of her life. But how quickly that delight would be destroyed, like pricking a soap bubble, if only she had heard the words that Yugi had spoken to Téa tonight.

Téa swallowed. The knowledge that her joy would cost Rebecca such bitter pain sucked all the pleasantness from her reverie. She shook her head. How could Yugi allow Rebecca to continue in such a deluded state of bliss? Surely once Yugi realized he could not, in good conscience, marry her, he ought to have broken up with her immediately.

The more Téa thought about it, the angrier she became. How could you tell someone you would always love them when you were engaged to someone else? You had to first free yourself of your previous commitment before you could commit yourself to another. But then, Yugi had not offered her a commitment, had he? He had expressed feelings, yes, but he had said nothing of the future. A cold, horrible thought came over her. What if Yugi knew he loved her, but felt obligated to marry Rebecca anyway? Was that what he had been trying to tell her? An even nastier thought occurred to her. Was Rebecca being strung along as some kind of backup plan if Téa didn't return Yugi's feelings? Or maybe _Téa_ was the backup plan. That didn't sound like the Yugi she knew, but then, neither did leading on Rebecca while professing love to her.

Or then, again, maybe that sounded exactly like Yugi, she thought bitterly as she got to her feet. If Yugi really had always loved her, like he claimed, why had he gotten so deeply involved with Rebecca in the first place? Merely on the strength of Rebecca's feelings for him? Téa knew the blonde could be pushy, but even Rebecca couldn't badger Yugi into an engagement if he didn't want it too, could she? Téa bit her lip. Yugi must have some feelings for Rebecca…or at least did. But surely that was over now, she tried to reassure herself. Yugi loved her. He had told her so. But it was Rebecca who was still wearing his ring.

Téa swallowed over a hard lump in her throat. She should have trusted her instincts and never gone after an engaged man. Yugi might have offered her love, but not commitment, and the one thing Téa knew, despite the sharp pain throbbing at her heart, was that she could not destroy Rebecca's happiness when she had no guarantee of securing it for herself.

She nodded briskly to herself. There was only one choice: she had to leave. As long as she was here, she reminded Yugi of the feelings he had once harbored for her, the feelings he was trying to recapture now. But once Téa was out of the way, things would go back to the way they had been before she had arrived. Rebecca had won his heart once and she could do it again, Téa was sure. As for her own feelings for Yugi, well, she had denied them to herself this long, and her life hadn't turned out so terrible. It wouldn't destroy her if she buried them forever.

But as she went to the closet to get her purse and quietly slipped out of the house before anyone could notice, a tiny voice deep inside her whispered that it would come close.

…

Not too long after, Yugi wandered around the ranch house, looking for Téa and finding not a trace of the elusive brunette. He shook his head. Nobody seemed to have seen her since she took her phone from Mokuba and went to make a call. She wasn't anywhere in the downstairs, or upstairs, either. It was like she had just disappeared.

That was ridiculous, Yugi told himself. There wasn't any reason for Téa to go anywhere. She had probably just found a quiet spot to have her phone conversation and nobody had noticed. A sudden thought occurred to him. Maybe she had gone outside, and he had just missed her as he had come in. He hurried out the door and circled the property, checking carefully for any sign of her. There was none.

"Where did you go, Téa?" Yugi muttered as he trudged back to the front door. As he passed the driveway, he noticed, a feeling of dread beginning to tingle in his stomach, that there was no car for Téa. _That's because she doesn't have a car down here_, he reminded himself quickly. _She must have taken a cab._ There was no reason to suspect that Téa had _left_.

After all, her purse was still here, Yugi remembered, a smile softening his features as he remembered that moment when their eyes had connected over that purse. When he got inside the house, he went to the closet, just to see it again and hold on that concrete reassurance that Téa was here, they really were going to settle everything between them tonight, and everything was going to be alright.

Yugi opened the closet door. A sharp gasp escaped him and he stumbled back, feeling as if he'd just been punched in the gut by a freight train. The purse was gone. And so, he knew, trembling with disbelief, was Téa.


	25. Turning

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Téa took a deep breath as she raised one leg, her supporting leg slightly bent. She let the breath out slowly, then, in a sudden blur of motion, whipped her leg out and spun, bringing it back and rising _en pointe_ to complete the _fouetté en tournant_. _One_, she counted mentally as she began the next turn. _Two. Three. Four_. Téa wobbled as her kick went awry. She bit her lip and corrected her form. _You can do twelve _fouettés en tournant, she told herself firmly. Pierina Legnani had done thirty-two in the Black Swan _Pas de Deux _of _Swan Lake_, when she'd danced the role of Odile, luring Prince Siegfried to pledge to marry her, instead of Odette, his true love. Téa stumbled suddenly, narrowly avoiding kicking a nearby dancer in the face.

"You must concentrate on what you are doing," Madame Marceau warned, fixing her iron-grey eyes on her. "Whatever is going on your mind, leave outside. In here, there is only room for dance."

Téa nodded and went back to her turns, but she doubted she could truly brush away the thoughts that had plagued her since she had returned to the theater three days ago. Yugi had called her three times, Mokuba, Serenity, and Mai once each. Téa hadn't answered any of them. She'd have to talk to her friends in due time, but not now. Her emotions were too raw and messy, and in her heart, she knew she was too weak to talk to Yugi. If he asked her to come back, if he told her he loved her again, Téa knew just how quickly her resolve would crumble. No, far better to wait until he was safely married, permanently beyond her touch. The temptation still might be there, but only behind a line Téa knew she would never cross.

"Téa!" Madame Marceau barked, as she lost her balance and had to put her foot down to keep from falling. "Focus on your movements!"

Téa bit her lip as she silently nodded again.

"What is it with you," Emily whispered, gliding just within earshot. "You've been so spacey since you came back; it's not like you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Téa mumbled, correcting her position and attempting the _ fouetté en tournant _again. The lie sounded false even to her.

Emily's face fell a little. "Oh. Well, okay. But if you need to talk to someone…"

"Emily!" The little blonde girl flinched as Madame Marceau's eyes bore into hers. "You are here to dance, not to chit-chat."

"Yes, Madame," Emily murmured, moving a few inches farther from Téa, and reassuming her own moves. She cast Téa a sympathetic glance, but didn't speak to her again for the rest of practice, concentrating on her dancing. Téa tried her best to follow her friend's example, but just when she thought she had succeeded in banishing everything but her dancing from her mind, thoughts of Yugi intruded. Had she done the right thing? The question haunted her, like the tight pain in her chest that wouldn't go away. The harder she tried to bury her feelings, the more they bubbled up inside her.

By the end of the day, Madame Marceau was as a sharp as an assassin's dagger towards her, and Téa couldn't blame her for it. Madame's frustration was well-deserved; Téa knew she had danced terribly all rehearsal. She expected a good scolding at the end of the day, when she finally took her shoes off and changed into her street clothes, but Madame merely shook her head and sighed as Téa walked by. The brunette blinked back tears. Madame's disappointment stung far worse than her anger.

Emily ran to catch up with her, but Téa had nothing to say to her. She wondered what the blonde thought of it all. Had Madame Marceau told her about the golden opportunity she had been about to have, before Téa had unexpectedly returned to the theater the next day? There was no trace of resentment in the younger girl's innocent green eyes, but then she was an actress, as well as a dancer, wasn't she? Téa kicked at the sidewalk. That was one of things she hated most about the theater—never knowing who was for real and who was a phony. She had always thought she could count on Emily's sincerity. Now, she wondered.

"Téa, are you sure you're alright?" Emily peered at her worriedly. "What happened in California?"

Pain welled up inside her so fiercely she had to clench her fists to keep from lashing out at Emily. Téa swallowed it back with an effort. "I'm alright, Emily, okay?" The words had an edge that even Téa could feel, but she couldn't stop her own bitter tone.

Emily was silent for a moment, and Téa wondered if she had shut down her questions for good. She should have known better. Emily was not so easily cowed. "Well, I'll believe that when cows sprout wings and roosters grow horns," she said breezily.

"You mean, 'when pigs fly?'" Téa said dryly.

"Why should the pigs have all the fun?" Emily grinned, and for a second Téa found herself smiling back.

"There," Emily said in a tone of supreme satisfaction. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Not too bad," Téa admitted, her smile dimming, but not quite fading away. Emily's cheerful approach to life was infectious. Téa brushed away her earlier suspicions of Emily as the ridiculous and worthless thoughts they were. Emily's wide smile and twinkling eyes could never hide the scowl of a conniving diva.

"You've had me worried, y'know."

"Because I don't smile, or because I can't dance," Téa sighed.

"Both," Emily said, as if it was obvious. "I've never seen you like this, Téa. Usually, you look like the moves are as natural as breathing, but since you've come back…"

"I look like a six year old at her first dance class," Téa finished wryly.

"Not _quite_," Emily chuckled.

"Fine. With a broken leg," Téa amended, but she was smiling in earnest now.

Emily laughed. "Well, at least you seem in better spirits now."

It was true, Téa realized. Here she was rehashing the worst day of dancing she'd ever had…and smiling about it. Still…her small bubble of happiness popped as she thought about tonight. If she danced as badly in performance as she had in rehearsal, the show would be a joke by the time the night was through. She rubbed her forehead. Dance had always been her refuge from the world around her, but lately it had been no escape at all.

Téa sighed. The performance belonged to them all, everyone in the cast who had worked hard to bring the show together. She couldn't be a diva. Téa swallowed. "Hey, Em, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing, Téa. What's up?"

"Can you dance tonight? As the Dark Magician Girl, I mean."

The blonde's head whipped up. "You want me to do the role?" Emily stared up at her in confusion.

"Yep. You are my understudy, after all."

"But, I thought—"

"Look, Em, we both know I'm not up to dancing right now. If I play the role, it's going to be a disaster."

"How do you know it won't be anyway?" Emily mumbled nervously.

Téa patted the girl on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll be fabulous, Emily, really." She smiled wistfully. "Honestly, you're much more like the Dark Magician Girl than I ever could be."

Emily reddened a little as she smiled, shaking her head slightly with bemusement. "You say that like you know her."

"Met her once." Téa shrugged her jacket on, her hand on the studio door. "Break a leg, okay?"

Emily swallowed.

"I'll do your role if you want me to, but…are you sure? Maybe you just need a little down time before you're as good as new. Some tea, chocolate, a friend to talk to?"

_So sweet,_ Téa thought. What exactly had she ever done to prompt this girl, this girl who could have just as easily been her rival, to offer such caring unselfishness? Had she, Téa, ever been so unselfish?

Téa managed a smile. "I'm sure, Em. Could you please let Madame Marceau know I won't be performing tonight?"

Barely waiting for Emily to nod her consent, Téa left the studio and walked to her car, briskly, but with her head held high and her features serenely expressionless.

Only once she was safe inside did she let the tears begin to slowly trickle down her cheeks.

By the time she made it to her apartment, she was a mess—her eyes little cooked-egg-shaped blobs of dripping mascara, and her nose runny. It was all she could to just fling herself on her bed and cry. She just lay there, burying her head in the pillows, as she sobbed, knowing nothing but time could dry her eyes…and soothe away the stinging hurt inside her.

….

She wasn't sure how long she had been lying there, whether it had been minutes or hours, when she heard a knock at the door. "May I come in?" It was Madame Marceau. Téa scrambled to her feet, hastily wiping at her eyes and nose before opening the door. Her mentor swept into the room. Téa braced herself for a good scolding—after all, she _had_ ditched the performance with little more than a second thought. She wasn't naïve enough to think there wouldn't be consequences.

Madame Marceau surveyed her with a critical eye. "You don't look at all well," she said abruptly. "Emily said you didn't feel up the performance tonight. Given your rather pathetic attempts in rehearsal, I'm not surprised to hear it." She paused. "However, I do want to know what has brought on this…this…"

"Suckiness?" Téa supplied.

A smile quirked at Madame's lips. "Indeed. Are you ill?" Her eyes flickered over Téa's haggard features. "You must have something quite nasty."

"Yeah." Téa flopped hopelessly on the bed. "It's called love, and there's no cure." There, she'd said it out loud, even if not to the right person. She was in love with Yugi Muto. Fat lot of good it did her now.

Madame Marceau sat down beside the brunette on the bed, her usually sharp expression softening with sympathy. "Oh my dear…"

Under Madame's gentle coaxing, Téa found herself explaining the whole story, divulging things she had never shared outside her tight circle of friends who understood because they had experienced it too. She wasn't sure if Madame understood it all—about Atem, and how he had been Yugi and not Yugi at all, and the Shadow Games, and all the dangers she and Yugi had braved together—or if she believed Téa or not, but Madame did not question her, only nodded and murmured sympathetically in response. By the time she ended with how she had come back to New York, Téa felt emotionally drained, but it wasn't a bad feeling. It was the kind of feeling you got after a day at the ocean, or a good, long cry, a tiredness mixed with a feeling of having been washed. A catharsis. Yes, that was the word. Téa felt she had gone through catharsis, and though the pain was still there, on the edges of her senses, it no longer overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes and let out a long, deep sigh.

"You love him very much, this 'Yugi' of yours, do you not?" Madame Marceau asked gently.

Téa nodded. "Yeah, I do. Maybe too much." She groaned. "This is so hard. What am I supposed to do?"

Madame paused slightly before saying, "I think, _ma fille_, you may have been…precipitous with your departure."

"I shouldn't have left?"

"You did not give your young man a chance to explain. There may have been reasons for what he did that you did not understand."

"But Rebecca was so in love with him. I heard her talking...She was so _happy_. There was no way she had any idea of what Yugi was telling me." Téa shook her head. "I realized then that if Yugi could do that to her, he could do that to me. I couldn't throw everything aside just to be together when I'd always be wondering if he was wooing other girls behind my back."

"Then you should have confronted him, and explained _why_ you were leaving," Madame Marceau insisted. "Running away, like you did, it doesn't solve anything."

Téa nodded dumbly. Coming to New York hadn't fixed her feelings for Yugi at all. They were still there, just as strong and just as painful. And now, their relationship would never have the closure that had been missing for so long. "I guess you're right," she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. It was too late now to put things right. At least it was over. That would have to be closure enough.

Madame nodded softly. "So, next time, you will not run away, no?"

"Next time?" Téa laughed bitterly. She knew now she'd never have Yugi, but entertaining the idea of someone else was impossible right now. Time heals all, and all that jazz, and maybe someday…but she'd blown so many chances already. Téa believed in second chances, but even in T-ball, kids had to strike out _sometime_. And Téa didn't think Fate, or Love, or Destiny, or whatever cosmic entity that held her romantic future in its metaphysical hands was as patient as a T-ball coach. Her mouth twisted as she looked up to meet Madame Marceau's gaze. "I don't know if there'll be a next time, Madame."

Madame just smiled. She patted Téa's hands as she rose from the bed in a single fluid movement. "You should come to the performance tonight, _mon petite_," she said, going to the door. "It would mean the world to Emily, you know." She turned the handle, but before she left, she turned back to Téa one last time. "And remember, _cherie_, life is full of surprises."

…

Téa didn't really feel like going anywhere tonight, but Madame Marceau was right, it _would_ mean a lot to Emily. Plus, a ticket had mysteriously materialized on her dresser—she didn't have to think too hard about who was behind that. So, as evening approached, Téa found herself getting dressed up once again.

It was hard to even go through all her dressy clothes without thinking about California. There was the yellow dress she had worn when she went out with Mokuba—and saw Yugi for the first time in years. Here was the pink blouse and black skirt she'd worn to the wedding rehearsal. Téa closed her eyes against the too-vivid memories of Yugi in the rain in those stolen moments of intimacy. When she opened her eyes, she found the maligned red dress—forever ruined by the loss of its ribbon. A flush rose to her cheeks as Téa tried not to remember how close they'd come to kissing when she'd worn that ribbon. And there was the dress that Téa had dreaded seeing from the minute she'd opened the closet, the dress that she'd shoved to the back as soon as she unpacked, the pale blue dress she'd worn that night. The night that everything had fallen to pieces. The night that Yugi had told her he loved her. She ran a trembling finger over the silky material, and then snatched her hand away. She grabbed the nearest outfit—a nondescript black dress that she didn't particularly like, but went with everything—and slammed the closet door shut.

Only later did she realize she still had to get her shoes, and opened it back up to fish out her black stilettos. They were the same ones she'd worn to the wedding rehearsal, much to her chagrin, but they went with the dress. Téa added the pearl necklace her mother had sent her for her eighteenth birthday, and, in a fit of whimsy, pulled her hair back with the cream-colored ribbon. She surveyed her reflection in the mirror, unsure if she was trying to prove to herself that she was stronger than this or just being masochistic. She didn't really like the way the ribbon looked—it made her look younger, softer, more vulnerable, none of the things she wanted, no _needed_ to be right now—but she left it in anyway. At least she could legitimately leave that dratted navy handbag behind—it clashed with her outfit.

…

It was an odd sensation coming to the theater as a patron and not an artist. Téa almost felt lost as she made her way through the crowded lobby, though she knew her way perfectly. She blended in almost seamlessly with the crowd, though the ushers all recognized her—as did a tabloid reporter who rushed up and asked her if it was true that she was dating Mokuba Kaiba. Before Téa could do more than gape at him in shock, a pair of ushers swooped on them, one hurrying the reporter away, the other respectfully escorting Téa to her seat, apologizing for the incident. Téa smiled and thanked him, inwardly rejoicing that she'd never yelled at or made special demands of the theater staff, like some of the other stars did. She shook her head as her sense of humor returned. _Mokuba?_ What in the world? She supposed someone must have seen them at the restaurant together. But Mokuba only saw her as a friend, a good thing, since using him as a consolation prize would have been too tempting right now, if he were interested.

Téa was relieved when the curtain went up, distracting her from her thoughts. Emily looked gorgeous, and her dancing was free of any errors, though her voice was a little weak on the first number. As the show went on, Emily improved in both technique and expression, and her show-stopping _battement glissé_ right before the intermission had Téa applauding until her hands ached. The glow of admiration still hadn't faded when Paul, the usher who had brought Téa to her seat, approached her.

"Oh, wasn't she wonderful!" Téa asked him excitedly.

Paul nodded and smiled. "Very wonderful, Ms. Gardner, though, if you'll excuse me, I preferred your performance last month." He cleared his throat. "Someone would like to speak to you backstage, if that's alright." At her startled nod, he briskly led the way. There were only fifteen minutes left in the intermission; she'd have to hurry to be back in time.

As they walked, Téa frowned in thought. It couldn't possibly be Emily—she'd be far too busy getting ready for the next half of the play to summon her. Téa would have to wait until the show was over to congratulate her on her superb performance. Her brow cleared. It must be Madame Marceau. Madame always lurked backstage, and she would want to make sure Téa had actually come. No doubt Madame would be crowing triumphantly to Langston Michaels over Emily's shining debut. She grinned at the thought, and was still grinning as Paul stopped in front of the director's office and opened the door. Langston Michaels sat behind the desk, looking anything but cheerful.


	26. Happy Endings

A/N: Just an epilogue to go...

Chapter Twenty-Six: Happy Endings

"Come in, Ms. Gardner."

From the expression on Michaels' face, this couldn't be good, but Téa obediently stepped inside the office.

"Have a seat." He gestured to one of the leather chairs on the opposite side of the desk. Téa slipped into the nearest one and folded her hands in her lap. "No doubt you already know what this is about," he sneered.

"No sir, I don't," she replied truthfully.

Michaels sniffed. "Have it your way, Gardner. Now tell me, what in the seven hills are you wearing?"

Taken aback, Téa glanced down at her dress. Maybe it was a little on the plain side, and she knew it wasn't the most flattering thing in her wardrobe, but she didn't see anything offensive about it. She narrowed her eyes as she looked up to meet Michaels' gaze. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"I should have thought it would be obvious," he said, a bit of a snarl in his voice. He reached below his desk, and then tossed a pile of blue and pink fabric towards Téa. "You should be wearing _this_."

Her costume. Téa sighed inwardly as she geared up for another confrontation. "I thought Madame Marceau had talked to you?" she ventured.

A discomfited expression passed over the director's face. "Yes, well, as valuable an asset as Mrs. Marceau is, she is not in charge of this production. I am. And I except—"

"Look, Mr. Michaels," Téa interrupted wearily. "I don't really see what this is all about."

"Don't see?" he repeated sardonically. "Is this some sort of attempt at humor, Ms. Gardner, for I must warn you, I don't find it remotely amusing."

"I assure you, I don't either, sir, but—"  
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Ms. Gardner, you are contractually obligated to appear in all scheduled performances of _The Dark Magician Girl in the Moonlight_."

"Unless I am unable to perform, or a decision is made by the production crew to have me not perform," Téa interjected firmly. "As Madame Marceau no doubt informed you, the decision was made that it would be beneficial to the production to have Emily perform the role tonight." She took a deep breath and forged ahead. "Frankly, sir, if you had an issue with that decision, you should have discussed it with Madame Marceau and informed both Emily and I of the final decision well-prior to the performance. Ambushing me like this now that it's too late to do anything about it doesn't benefit anyone." Téa braced herself for backlash she knew was coming. It didn't take long.

"_Frankly_, Ms. Gardner, you are out of line." Michaels glowered at her, his blue eyes frosty. "I've warned you more than once, Ms. Gardner, there's no place for divas in this company.

Téa's eyes flashed. "Mr. Michaels—"

"I'm not finished, Ms. Gardner!" He slammed his fist onto the desk. Téa inhaled sharply. There was a moment of silence as Michaels struggled to compose himself. "Just what is your game, Gardner?" he said at last.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. What is it that you want, Ms. Gardner? You had your boyfriend buy you this role. Is that not good enough now? You want more money, bigger billing? A different role? Is Kaiba Corp going to purchase _Wicked_ next? _Hairspray_?"

Crimson fury roiled through Téa's blood and suffused her cheeks. "How dare you?" she whispered, her voice hoarse with anger. "How dare you!"

There was a knock on the door. "Mr. Michaels?" the secretary called uncertainly. "There's someone here to see Ms. Gardner."

"Not now, Allison!" he barked irritably.

Téa rose from her seat, shaking her head in disbelief. "How could you possibly …You have no right to speak to me like that! And you certainly have no right to speak that way about Mokuba Kaiba."

Michaels smirked. "So you don't even deny it, eh? Don't act so self-righteous, Gardner. Its common knowledge you only got the part because you were sleeping with the owner's brother."

If there had been anything in Téa's hand at that moment, it would have gone crashing towards Langston Michaels' head. As it was she had to settle for clenching her fists so tight they went white. "Why you...little-minded, pig-head, arrogant…"

"Mr. Michaels, I really think—"

"Fine! Show them in, Allison." He leered at Téa. "With any luck, it'll be another rich friend of yours. Maybe he'll find you a new job if you sleep with him too."

That was it. Téa marched towards him, slamming her finger onto his chest. "Clean the wax out of your ears, and listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. I did not sleep with Mokuba Kaiba!"

"Well, that's good to know."

Téa froze, as all thoughts of pummeling Michaels to a bloody pulp completely evaporated from her head. She turned slowly, scarcely daring to breathe. It couldn't be… "Yugi?"

There he was, standing in the doorway, smiling softly as her eyes met his. "Hello, Téa."

She shook her head. "What are you doing here?" This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real. Any second now she'd wake and find she was dreaming.

He took a step towards her. "I came to see you. I had to find you, talk to you."

Her hand flew to her forehead. "But I thought…the wedding?" It should have been over by now. He should be on his way to his honeymoon, with Rebecca. But here he was, standing in front of her, a familiar light in his eyes.

Yugi shook his head. "There was no wedding, Téa." He took another step towards her. "There's not going to be a wedding. Not for me and Rebecca." He let out a little breath. "That's what I was trying to tell you the other day. For me, there's never going to be anyone else, but you."

"Yugi," Téa breathed. Emotions swelled inside her so fierce that tears sprang to her eyes. "Yugi, I don't know what to say…except, I'm sorry, so sorry." Yugi paled. "I'm been such an idiot this whole time. Every since I met you, I couldn't see what was right under my nose this whole time. And I've wasted so much time, for both of us, chasing empty dreams, when all I really needed…" She took a tentative step toward him, and reached out to touch his shoulder. "Was you." She smiled through her tears. "Yugi, I love you."

The sudden joy that radiated from his face was like the sun bursting forth from behind a cloud. He grasped her free hand with both of his. "Téa, I have to ask you something. Will you m—"

She cut him off with a kiss. Startled, he stiffened momentarily, then relaxed against her. He let go of her hand and drew her against him. Téa sighed and her hand slid from his shoulder to cup his face as the kiss deepened. Completely lost in each other, several minutes passed before at last Yugi broke the kiss. Their eyes connected as his breath gently stirred her bangs.

"Will you marry me?" Yugi whispered.

Téa shook her head. "No," she murmured. "Not yet." She took a half-step back. "Yugi, we've been apart a long time, and we've lived very different lives. We need to get to know each other again. We need to find a way to make this whole crazy thing work—you with your archaeological research to do, and me with my dancing career. I need to _know_, deep, deep down, that this is real, and true, and it's not going to fade away." She smiled. "I know I've had so much already, but I need time, Yugi. Can you give it to me?"

Yugi smiled and reached out to stroke her cheek. "I'd give you the world, if I could find a gift box big enough." He leaned towards her, and they would have shared their second kiss, if Langston Michaels hadn't loudly cleared his throat.

"Not to break up this tender moment," he said dryly, "But Ms. Gardner and I were in the midst of a discussion."

"A discussion?" Téa arched her eyebrow as she turned to face the director. "That's not quite how I recall it."

"Nor I." Madame Marceau swept through the doorway. "The walls of your office are quite thin, Langston. The next director may want to install thicker paneling."

"Next director?" Michaels challenged, but Madame's arrival had clearly unsettled him, and there was a new, almost fearful note to his voice.

"But of course. I hardly think the company is likely to retain you after I inform them of how you harassed our rising star, and slandered one of the top executives of the company we depend on for production rights. I believe they will find that you are…what is the expression? ...a 'flight risk.'"

"Now look here," Michaels blustered. "You can't just—"

"Oh, but I will. I think our conversation is finished, like you." She turned to Yugi and smiled. "You must be our Téa's _amie_." She winked at Téa, and stage-whispered. "Very handsome, _petite_, but you must do something about the hair."

Téa laughed and reached up to ruffle Yugi's spikes. "But I like the hair," she protested.

Yugi pulled her close. "Then I'll never change it," he murmured against her cheek.

"Never," she agreed, just before his lips descended on hers.

This time, they were so caught up in each other, they didn't even notice as Madame quietly left the room, dragging Michaels along with her, and shut the door. Wrapped in Yugi's arms, Téa thought of nothing else, not of the way Serenity would giggle when she called her tomorrow to tell her the news, or how Mai would grab the phone and say "It's about time," or even of the music that flooded the room as the second half of the show began. She just sighed, as her fingers twisted deeply in Yugi's hair. For once, there was no reason to say anything at all.


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue:

"_Billionaire's Brother Steals Game King's Girl_," Téa read aloud, barely able to contain her giggles, as she skimmed the tabloid article, complete with pictures of Mokuba and Rebecca on the beach. "Spokespeople for Mokuba Kaiba refused to comment on the Kaiba Corp vice president's relationship with Rebecca Hawkins, a former professional duelist, whose summer wedding with Kaiba rival Yugi Muto was called off last June. But sources close to the couple say the pair have been dating for three months now, and hinted that their relationship was the cause for the wedding's cancelation. But is this really love for Domino City's most eligible bachelor, or is this part of an elaborate plot by his older brother, Seto Kaiba, to humiliate his long-time rival?"

"Can even the tabloids really believe that Kaiba would stoop so low as to have his brother steal my girlfriend?" Yugi asked, setting down a glass of orange juice in front of her. "The guy may be obsessed, but he's not desperate." He shook his head. "Oh, Joey sent this in the mail," he remembered, laying a newspaper clipping on the table.

A black and white photo of Mai and Joey stared out at Téa. _Valentine, Wheeler, to wed in November_, the caption read. Téa grinned. "Aww, Mai actually looks sweet for once. She sent me some pictures of her ring online. It's gorgeous." There was something secretive about Yugi's smile as he murmured agreement. Téa narrowed her eyes as she glanced up at him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." He grinned that odd grin again.

Téa shook her head. "Whatever. We got the wedding invitation from Serenity yesterday. It seems she and Tristan are determined not to let Joey and Mai steal a march on them. They moved the date up to October 1st."

Yugi frowned. "But you'll be on tour then, won't you?"

Téa smiled. "Yep. So I made a call to a certain billionaire's brother, and guess what stop we have scheduled for that week?"

Yugi shook his head, grinning. "Domino. You're so wicked." He bent down and kissed the top of her head.

"Domino," Téa agreed. She turned her face up toward him. "It'll be good to be back after all these years." Her lips caressed his cheek. "Back where it all began." She laughed against his skin. "If someone had told me all those years ago that I was going to end up with that dorky porcupine head, I'd never have believed them."

"I wouldn't have dared to hope," Yugi said, his nose brushing hers. "But here we are."

"Here we are," Téa sighed, as she leaned into his kiss. As his arms enfolded her and she melted into his chest, she thought, _And here I'll stay_.

FIN


End file.
